Afterthoughts
by Epidot
Summary: Time-travel, that isn't really time-travel. Naruto makes his way from his first day as a genin, with a 'feel' about how he should do things as a shinobi, and dreams about what 'a' future holds.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto belong to Kishimoto Masashi. This story is written without permission, for fan purposes only.

Thanks: I want to give my thanks to fan-fiction author Shawny Wong, for giving me the idea for this story. It was born from her story 'One Small Step', and I highly recommend it for all NaruHina fans. She is, unlike me, able to tell a story in just the right way, with all the fluffy goodness the couple deserve. I also want to thank her for looking over this story and point out important flaws in the plot that I'd made in the drafts I sent her. This story would be a lot worse without her. Thank you!

**Afterthoughts.**

**Chapter 1. **

**Dream:**

_The large man that Naruto had labelled 'Ero-Sennin' leaned over the large railing that separated the road from the drop down to the sheltered town._

_It was a common thin__g in the more wind exposed places in the Land of Fire. Naruto wasn't tall enough to peer over it, so he had to do with a limited view for the coming lesson that he was about to receive._

"_You know, it's probably healthy for you to learn how to relax a bit more Naruto," the Ero-Sennin began. They had travelled far and trained a lot lately, but Naruto had only really appreciated the training, and then he'd gone out of his way to be a bit of a pest when they didn't. _

"_You need to learn how to take a moment and observe your situation. That ability will serve __you well as a shinobi…if you'll manage to use it," he then paused to let Naruto digest his words for a bit. Not to mention, to see how problematic it would be for the little gaki to learn the meaning of the word 'patience'._

_As the moment dragged on, Naruto frowned. The old man had made it a habit of not elaborating, but Naruto was already impatient and in no mood for games. "Hey! Hey, Ero-Sennin! What do you mean!?"_

_Jiraiya scowled as his apprentice did the exact opposite of what he had just told him to do. "I mean that you must learn to have patience, and not just go rushing into any given situation. It wouldn't hurt you to try and think a little now and then either."_

_It was a painfully slow__ task to teach someone like Naruto that to act first and think later didn't always work…Fun but slow._

_Jiraiya continued to stare over the railing as Naruto tried to dig out the meaning of Jiraiya's plainly spoken words. He wasn't stupid, but it took some work to get him to accept a new idea. After a few minutes, he decided that he would try to do what the old pervert had suggested. _

_He turned his back to the railing and tried to relax. His mind however was nagging at how this would help him as a shinobi. _

"_Ne, Ero-Sennin! How can this help me as an awesome ninja?" _

_Jiraiya huffed, he didn't really want to give a long lecture, but with a student like Naruto you had to answer when asked. "Well, who would you say is the most successful shinobi out of your class?"_

"_Me?" _

_Jiraiya chuckled at the answer. Naruto had an ego the size of Konohagakure no Sato at times. "No, not you…Who else can you think of?" _

_Naruto pouted, "Is it Sakura? She's the apprentice of Baa-chan."_

_Jiraiya shook his head. _

_Naruto's face took on an expression that suggested pain; he was thinking. _

"_It is not Sasuke either," Jiraiya added after a little while. The boy's fixation on his former team-mate was both a blessing and a curse in his training. It made him work harder, but it also narrowed the teaching methods that could be used. _

_After a while Naruto shook his head and huffed in defeat. "I don't know." _

_Jiraiya smiled. "It is the Nara boy."_

"_Shikamaru?" Naruto asked in disbelief. _

"_Yes."_

"_Is it because he's a__ chuunin?" _

"_Partly, but not exactly," Jiraiya was secretly getting his hopes up. Naruto was closing in on the point._

_Naruto paused, t__hen after a while he seemed to realize something. "I get it! I know why he's the most successful!"_

_Jiraiya smiled, it would seem that Naruto had learned a little bit about seeing underneath the underneath after all. _

"_It's because he's lazy, right?"_

_Well maybe not…_

"_Naruto, how is being lazy the same as being successful?" Jiraiya asked disappointedly. _

_Naruto pouted at the question. "Hey! You just said I needed to relax to be a good ninja!" Naruto practically shouted._

_With a decisively firm voice Jiraiya told him to calm down. It wouldn't do any good if he started shouting. With a sigh he tried again, "Naruto, I told __**you**__ to calm down so you could figure out why he is so successful. Think about how he fights, how he acts. Why is he the only one that became chuunin?"_

_Naruto crossed his arms and looked at the sky. "He fights slowly; he acts lazy and thinks everything is troublesome…," after some thought he continued, "and he lost his battle in the chuunin exam." _

_Naruto shook his head__, the only logical thing he could come up with was that he was made chuunin because he lost, and he knew that wasn't the answer the old pervert wanted. "I don't know why he's the only one that made chuunin."_

_Jiraiya sighed. The mystery seemed to be a bit too much for Naruto. "It's because he fights as a shinobi should fight," he told the boy with a knowing smile. _

_Naruto tilted his head to the side, "Nani? Should shinobi fight slowly?" now he was really confused._

"_No, shinobi only fight slowly when they must," Jiraiya informed him. "Shinobi often fight fast to conceal their techniques and to get the upper hand over their opponents using speed, but what makes a truly good shinobi is the ability to keep their own secrets while at the same time puzzle out what their opponents are hiding." _

_Jiraiya __looked down at his student. He had his full attention now, and it was important for him to learn this early on._

_It had been a shock to see how neglected Naruto__ had been with the basics of the shinobi ways. That's why he focused a lot of their training on the more elementary things a shinobi needed to know. _

"_In his battle with the Suna girl, he controlled the fight by just dragging it out," Jiraiya continued, hoping that an example would drive the point home. "By using the information he gathered from her attacks, he controlled her battle options by distracting her with pieces of information that he selected. Nearly everything he did was to distract her from his true plan." _

"_Nani? I though__ he used the whole fight to figure out how to capture her." Naruto was truly baffled. He knew Shikamaru was smart, the mission to rescue Sasuke had shown him that much, but this was amazing._

"_No, he was calm and centred. I know that you have your moments," Naruto perked up at that, "But compared to the Nara boy, you're about as insightful as a dango stick."_

"_Hey!" _

"_Now," Jiraiya continued, ignoring the outburst, "if you took your time and actually tried to think ahead, you may just become an effective shinobi after all." After that, Jiraiya stayed silent and peered down towards the town. _

_Naruto did has his teacher had said and took his time to thin__k about what he had just learned. It was true that he had won several victories by tricking his opponents. He had in fact always managed to surprise his opponents when he won fights. He tricked Kiba several times before the fight got serious. He had let Kabuto stab his hand to keep him from moving. It was the trick at the end of his chuunin exam fight that enabled him to get inside Neji's guard. _

_Maybe the old pervert had a point__ after all. With that in mind, Naruto promised that he would try and look underneath the underneath a little more in the future. _

_Even so, s__tanding still and relax was not much fun when you had nothing to look at. The Ero-Sennin had a view at least, looking over the railing. It would seem that he was looking at something interesting, if one were to judge by his stare. _

_With little difficulty Naruto jumped up on the railing, only to see that his teacher had a clear view into a bath house that was definitively placed on the wrong location. This was probably why he wanted Naruto to stand still and think. This was why he got mad when Naruto raised his voice. It was all an excuse! He really should have been able to see underneath __**this situation**__. _

_The women at the bath were suddenly alerted by the shouting of a boy and the frantic hushing of an older male._

_The scene was disrupted by a truly __**dreadful**__ noise._

////////////////////////////

Naruto slammed his hand onto the infernal device that had taken up residence on the table by his bed. Slowly he got up in a sitting position, trying, with a limited success to get a grasp on reality. It was always hard to start the day, especially when you had something to do, like ninja registration.

It had been a few days since he was told about the Kyuubi, and just like that, life had gone on as normal. Well, mostly.

The Hokage had made sure that Naruto attended some counselling sessions after the incident, but there had not been much need. The old Hokage had taken time off to talk with him several times the past few days, more then he usually did. That had done more good then any amount of counselling would ever do.

Iruka-sensei had taken him out to dinner at Ichiraku's several times as well, and if anything cured the soul, it was Ichiraku's ramen. So in between the Hokage, Iruka-sensei, Old man Ichiraku and his daughter Ayame…and the ramen, Naruto's life was better then ever.

Now however Naruto found himself sluggishly awake with a mild headache and heavy eyelids that did not seem too eager to open. It had been a strange dream, about the old perverted white-haired man. It was not often that dreams were this easy to remember, neither were they as realistic as this one had been.

No Hokage hat, no flying ramen, no Sakura clinging to his arm, begging him to save her from some danger. It had just been him and the old man called Ero-Sennin. It had been a nice dream though.

With a heavy sigh he returned his attention to reality. This was after all a big day for his career. It was time to deliver his shinobi registration papers, as a still heavily bandaged, Iruka-sensei had told him about last night.

As he got out of bed his thoughts drifted back to the old pervert in the dream. It was a strange sensation to miss an imaginary figure so much after waking up. The Ero-Sennin had a grandfatherly air about him, a cool grandfather that took the time to teach him stuff. Even so, it was only a dream.

_After all, Shikamaru smart? No way._

After a quick visit to the bathroom, he started preparing his breakfast. It wasn't much, just some cereal and milk that tasted a little funny. A worried glance into the bowl revealed nothing 'green', praise the gods.

As he ate, he thought back on what the imaginary old man had said. _Thinking while fighting?_ That sounded complicated. Even so, Naruto could not deny that it made a little bit sense. A ninja was supposed to trick and deceive. He had heard the same at the academy once. The one day that he had done really good.

Maybe he should try it out some time. It couldn't hurt really, not now that he was able to create so many more hands to work with. That thought brought a smile to his face. He was in fact able to use Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. A Jônin-level technique that not even Iruka-sensei knew. Who needed to think when you knew such an awesome move, right? Well, maybe….

After finishing eating and placing his dishes in the sink for later, it was time to dress. It did not take long to find his clothes from last night, but the overall picture in the mirror disagreed with him. Naruto couldn't really put his finger on it, but it just felt… wrong somehow.

The orange and blue jumpsuit was his trademark; no one else used clothing like this. He studied the mirror closer. It was not the orange; it could never be the orange. No, it was the blue. The blue did not feel right at all. With some hesitation he took his jacket off and tossed it onto the dirty clothes pile by the door. It was no good; his t-shirt was blue as well.

He quickly found an oversized t-shirt among his somewhat cleaner clothes. It was the colour that told him it was the right choice. It was plain black, complete with an uneven-looking orange swirl on both the front and back. It was a little too big for him though. It was however the only thing black, so the size would just have to do. He hated to think of himself as small; it was an issue because he was among the shortest in class.

When he put it on, the swirl looked even more uneven, almost hand-drawn. It was somewhat cool like that, probably the only reason that he bought it in the first place. Even so, black and orange was the only thing that felt right. It had to be that one.

When he put on his goggles, he noticed his new hitai-ite. It would be better to wear that today wouldn't it? He lowered the goggles so they hung around his neck. Just as he was about to try it on, he noticed the clock. It was much later then he had first thought, and that meant that so was he.

Muttering curses under his breath, he dashed into the bathroom. He brushed his teeth quicker than what would have been recommended, and hurried out the door. The only thought that bothered him was that he did not have time to apply the 'cool' makeup he had planed to wear.

His hitai-ite was completely forgotten by the mirror.

/////////////////////////////////7

"_What have you dug up today Naruto?" asked the small red, white haired toad seated on the Hokage's head. Naruto had dragged him away from the __old sage's side at Myobokuzan to show him a new jutsu that he was working on. The blond man chuckled when the toad shifted his weight to get a better view of the scroll the blond man was unfolding. _

"_Oh, you're going to love this Ero-Sennin," replied Naruto. "I found a new way to use the concept of the Hiraishin." _

_The toad looked thoughtful for a minute, and then a perverted grin plastered itself on its face. "You've discovered how useful it is to get in and out of the women's bathhouse?" _

_Even as a toad, Jiraiya was still a pervert, and he knew that his godson had taken up his habit of sneaking a peek now and then, even if he only did so when his soon-to-be-wife, little Hinata-chan was there. Deep down he admired his blond student for being in such a loving relationship, and for being so adept at stealth that he only spied when that particular Hyuuga-soon-to-be-Uzumaki was present (Not to mention that she was a recon specialist). _

_Naruto chuckled at his sensei's remark. He would never change. Now however, he wanted to show him something important. "It's about the way Hiraishin moves you from one place to another." Naruto said in a light tone. Jiraiya got more interested at that. As a seal master himself, he was always interested in new ways to deploy the art, and in the use of sealing techniques, no one could match Uzumaki Naruto. _

_He listened as Naruto explained__ about light, energy, how to move that energy, complete with examples based on ramen flavours and the use of some specially sealed shadow clones as the test subjects._

_It was strange to see how Naruto finally channelled his energy into creative thinking. That was one thing he wished he had thought of back when Naruto was his apprentice. Then again, the Sasuke __problem usually got in the way of creative thought on Naruto's part back in those days. _

_What caught Jiraiya's attention from Naruto's explanation was the seal he intended to use on the clones. __The blond said it was meant to block out something that Jiraiya missed. _

"_What__ is the seal for again? I missed it…" he asked after unsuccessfully trying to puzzle out the meaning by himself. _

_Naruto moved his head from side to side, unknowingly making it harder for Jiraiya to hold on. "Well, the technique will require us to use senjutsu, to break out of this reality. To get through the natural energies so to speak…." Naruto paused for a bit. "Well, the side-effect can be carried over on the original, right? The seal is only a precaution, to avoid anything serious from happening." _

_The toad chuckled. There was a time when Naruto would have laughed at these security measures, but Jiraiya knew that not even the mighty Hokage could argue with the pleading eyes of a loved one. Not to mention, Hinata-chan could be rather scary when she wanted to be. _

_It was strange to think that the shy little girl had grown into such a beautiful and opinionated wo__man. Of course, she still appeared to be shy and timid, but just like Naruto, she was so much more then what she appeared to be._

"_Just senjutsu?" he inquired, just to reassure Naruto that he was paying attention._

_Naruto looked a little embarrassed, "Well, they must be able to materialize in another dimension without being cancelled...It's a little complicated, but the point is that I would really want to get to the intended location alive." _

_Jiraiya could hardly comment on that logic…._

_As Naruto was about to explain the proper design of the activated seal, t__he scene drifted into a hazy white, _then suddenly into the black shadows of the room at the inn.

With a mutter of surprise Jiraiya jerked out of the pleasant slumber he had enjoyed. Something was not as it should be, and it seemed to take the Sannin a few minutes to get his thoughts on track. It was no ordinary dream that was for sure. He had memories, new memories of things that had not happened, people he hardly knew.

"_Is this genjutsu?"_ He silently asked himself. No, no this wasn't an illusion. He was awake, with a blinding headache that didn't come from alcohol, and knew more now than he did when he went to sleep.

It was more than a little concerning to realize that he now knew about people that he had only heard rumours of the day before, without anyone telling him. He knew about techniques and Jutsu that had yet to be invented, and most importantly, he knew what his godson was one day going to be.

His face changed from that of confusion to determination and he made a decision.

Without wasting time he got dressed and left the comfort of the futon behind. He was far from figuring it all out, but he knew for certain that he needed to get to Konoha. Things had to be done, prevented...confirmed. Not to mention that he had a responsibility that he had neglected far too long.

/////////////////////////////////

At the hidden Myobokuzan Mountains, a gigantic old toad moved his head to the side, as it noticed a change in the course of fate and destiny. Visions seemed to overlap, and merge into new path's until they were one.

The Sage knew only that the child of destiny was ultimately responsible for the changes in his own life, and thus in so many other lives that it would touch on its path.

It was not bad changes that had been done, things would just happen differently then what would have happened a few minutes ago. With a smile the toad forgot what he had seen, only to see it again at a later time. Thus, repeating the entire experience again.

Later that day, after he had once more seen the future, he requested the company of the unequalled pervert, so he could share his, then forgotten, knowledge with him.

/////////////////////////////////

The Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato was looking at a picture of Uzumaki Naruto. The boy was wearing a black t-shirt with an orange swirl on the front, but not the orange jacket that was usually the preferred attire on the blond troublemaker. Another difference from his usual look was that his goggles were hanging loosely around his neck, and not fastened around his forehead like they used to.

The lack of any hitai-ite would have been the usual concern when taking registration identification picture, but the fact that the lack of anything to hold his hair away from his forehead made him look much more like a miniature model of the Yondaime Hokage than he already did, was a bit more alarming. If the picture hanging in the Hokage's study had been smiling, it would no doubt be even more alike.

Uzumaki Naruto was the secret child of the late Namikaze Minato, but that was a secret that had to be kept at all cost. The Forth had too many enemies, and they would love nothing more than to seek out vengeance. Even so, Sarutobi would never ask Naruto to take a new photo now, as he had done nothing wrong.

With a smile he looked up at the boy seated in front of him. Sarutobi did wonder where the boy's hitai-ite was though. "This is a good picture Naruto-kun, but where is your hitai-ite?" he asked with a grandfatherly voice.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, as he usually did when he was embarrassed, "Anou…I want to wait until the team assignment Oyaji."

Even though his lack of respect was present, the boy was acting uncharacteristically uncertain, something Sarutobi found a little worrying. Was the event with Mizuki having a bigger effect on the boy than he had first thought?

Sarutobi had taken time to eat and talk with the boy a lot more than usual in the time after the incident. He had also assigned him to counselling sessions, just in case there were something Naruto felt uncomfortable telling him. Naruto had shown every sign of recovery, even happier now that he knew why people didn't like him.

The prank he had pulled on his last session was just further proof that he was back to his old self. Sarutobi had to mentally stop himself from chuckling at the thought of the counsellor that had been glued to his own chair.

With a nod to the attendant, and a faint smile, he signalled that it was all in order. The attendant started collecting the necessary papers that Naruto needed to have as the Hokage cleared his throat before he spoke. "Congratulations Naruto, you're…" he began, but was interrupted.

The door burst open, and with a battle cry worthy of a nine year old, a little boy came charging towards the Hokage, intent on using a blunted practise shuriken (that looked like it was made from cardboard) in his assassination.

He wore a yellow t-shirt and a long white scarf that trailed behind him. Not to mention some sort of weird helmet, that let his hair stick out in the back.

"GET READY TO FIGHT OYAJI!" he screamed, right before crashing face first onto the floor. The rest of the room looked on in silence as the boy collected himself. "Nani? Where!? A trap!?" he shouted as he looked around for the nonexistent offending object.

In that moment a tall man in dark glasses, like his classmate Shino had, appeared in the doorway. He was dressed in navy blue like most Konoha shinobi, with a dark cloth that covered his hair.

"Honourable grandson! Are you alright!? I am sorry, but there is no trap here!" the tall man said in a rush; as he pushed his glasses further up on his nose. He immediately started to apologise to the Hokage as the boy now known as 'the honourable grandson' fixed a stare at the only other minor in the room.

The boy got to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at a still silent Naruto and declared in a loud voice, "It was you that tripped me! Admit it!"

Naruto, who had been silently wondering what was happening up until then, got up and yanked the younger boy off his feet by the front of his shirt. "No way! You fell all on your own, baka!"

It might not have been the most graceful thing to do, but Naruto didn't like to be accused of things he didn't do. It was bad enough to be blamed for what he did.

The tall shinobi that had entered after the boy was shocked to see the grandson of the village leader treated in such a way, and he immediately started to protest.

"Naruto! Are you mad!? Let go of him this instant! Don't you know who he is?! That is the honourable grandson of Hokage-sama!" The shinobi was pointing and waving his arms around, as if he didn't know what to do with them.

The ageing Hokage, whom had been silently observing the turn of events, was a bit worried about the man's blood pressure.

The 'honourable grandson', whom hated to be called 'honourable grandson', was silently staring at Naruto. Finally 'honourable grandson' challenged Naruto to hit him if he dared, a childish thing to do, but when you are eight that wasn't much of a problem.

Of all the things the boy had expected, it wasn't to have his challenge answered. Everyone was careful with him because of who his grandfather was, so never before had anyone dared raised a hand against him.

Naruto however hit him over the head with little ceremony, much to the tall shinobi's horror and the Hokage's mild interest, and shouted that he didn't care who the boy was or who he was related to.

In all the apologizing to the Hokage, done by the tall shinobi, Naruto took his leave with the necessary papers. He could have sworn that the apologising man didn't even see him collect them right in front of him. As ninja's went, that one did not seem to be very observant.

////////////////////////

After Naruto had left, he became aware of someone following him.

In retrospect, it was hard not to see it, as the boy was horrible at hiding. Rocks weren't square shaped and certainly didn't have spy holes, fences made up of vertical boards didn't have smaller patches of horizontal boards _flapping in the wind_. By shinobi standards, Naruto should have noticed the boy sooner then he actually did.

With his patience reaching its limit, Naruto quickly turned around, as 'honourable grandson' once again hid himself, holding his wooden-fence-camouflage the wrong way up, again.

"Stop following me! Don't you think I can see you, baka?!" Naruto shouted, pointing an accusing finger on the badly concealed offender.

Strangely enough the boy didn't seem very upset or even that surprised that he'd been spotted as he calmly stepped out of hiding with a smug smile on his face. "You noticed me. It's true what they say about your abilities," The boy stated with what he probably though was a dramatic tone.

Naruto was suddenly intrigued, someone else had seen his skills for what they were (No mater that it was from a boy that was probably two or three years younger than him) and was impressed.

Just as Naruto was about to ask the boy what he meant, 'honourable grandson' pointed a finger at him and made his demand, "Let me become your apprentice!"

That rocked Naruto on his feet. He'd just become a genin, and now people wanted to be his apprentice? Even his ego had a bit of trouble to understand that logic, so he was glad when 'honourable grandson' felt the need to elaborate. "Teach me the jutsu you used to defeat the Hokage! Please sensei!" he begged.

Naruto had no idea who could have told 'honourable grandson' about that. The old man had caught him entering the tower, and he had used his 'Oiroke no jutsu' to defeat him before his escape (something that said a lot about the supposedly strongest shinobi in the village).

Little did he know that it was the 'honourable grandson' who had found the elderly Hokage on the floor and managed to wake him up, using a bucket of ice cold water.

Naruto didn't hesitate for long before deciding to teach the younger kid the Hokage defeating technique, and thus took on his role as sensei for his first apprentice.

//////////////////////////

After the day was nearly over, 'honourable grandson' (Naruto still didn't know his name) finally managed to get the perverted technique right and they took a well deserved break.

They were sitting on a log, eating a late lunch when Naruto finally got curious over why 'honourable grandson' was so set on defeating the old man.

"What's the deal with you and the old man anyway?" He asked casually, noticing how the question affected the boy.

'Honourable grandson' suddenly got very serious and it took a moment before he answered.

"My Ojiisan named me Konohamaru, after the village," he started, mentioning his name for the first time. "It's supposed to be for luck, but no one ever calls me by that name. It's always 'Honourable Grandson' or something like that, never Konohamaru. You would think that it would be easy to remember, as I'm named after the village."

The boy frowned before he continued, "They just don't see me…they only see my grandfather, but never me. That's why I want to become Hokage as fast as possible! I want to be respected for me, not for whom I'm related to!"

Naruto was shocked to hear how similar their reasons were. Naruto also wanted to become Hokage, so people had to acknowledge him and would be unable to ignore him. Konohamaru wanted to be Hokage so people would see him and not just his clan or as the grandson of someone else.

Another thing that struck Naruto was how pathetic it all sounded. It sounded selfish and childish now that someone else said it out loud. There was much more to the title of Hokage than just the honour and respect that came with it.

"Baka, no one is going to respect that," he said quietly, as much to himself as to his student.

Konohamaru however took Naruto's statement as a personal insult, "What did you say!?"

"I said that no one is going to respect you for wanting to be Hokage just so you can be seen," Naruto snapped back. "To be Hokage is the same as to be respected by every ninja in the village! No one would respect you as a Hokage just because you want them to."

Konohamaru was stunned at the seriousness in Naruto's voice. Naruto ignored it and just continued, "The Hokage is the strongest shinobi in the village, and no matter how hard you train, it will always take a lot of work. There are no shortcuts to become the Hokage, and for you to become Hokage…," he paused and locked eyes with Konohamaru. "You'll have to win over me, because my dream is also to become Hokage."

Konohamaru didn't respond, but his face betrayed him. He was intimidated by the prospect for fighting Naruto.

Before anything more was said, they were both startled by a shout coming from the trees behind them. "There you are!"

It was the tall shinobi with the dark glasses from the Hokage tower. He had finally noticed that Konohamaru had gone missing and had tracked them down. Now he was standing on a branch, looking at Naruto with all too familiar eyes, cold and loathsome.

"Honourable grandson! Now we should return home." He said as he jumped to the ground, ignoring Naruto as if he didn't exist.

As Konohamaru shouted his protests, Naruto realised that the tall shinobi actually looked a bit familiar. Not in the way that he'd done something cruel to him or such, but rather a sneaking feeling that he should know him for some reason.

His musings over why he should recognise the shinobi made him miss most of the lecture the shinobi in question had started, and only Konohamaru's attempt of his newly learnt jutsu brought his attention back to the situation at hand.

"Oiroke no Jutsu!" shouted Konohamaru at the top of his lungs as he weaved the necessary seals.

The chakura gathered and in a puff of smoke the form of the noisy little brat disappeared, only to be replaced by the form of a naked young woman, with nothing but drifting smoke to concealing the more unfamiliar parts of her female anatomy.

It was the form that Naruto had drilled into him for the better part of the day, and if he were to be honest, a damn good Henge.

While the technique didn't work as well with this adult, it did have a noticeable effect. Nearly hyperventilating and in an obvious state of embarrassed shock, the tall shinobi started to protest and criticise Naruto's invention.

"Wha…Wha…What a vulgar display! Not fir for a gentleman's eyes! And I will not fall for it!" The man was talking so loud and so fast that it was clear how close Konohamaru had come in his attempt to defeat him.

With that insight, Naruto gathered his own chakura to use his new favourite technique.

The tall shinobi was busy battling a resisting Konohamaru, by pulling his scarf, so he was unaware of Naruto who was about to shout "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" to launch his own attack, but a thought stopped him.

Maybe attacking the shinobi was the wrong approach…? _Then, what can I do? Maybe it's not what I can do but…._

"Konohamaru!" he called out. Both the boy and the tall shinobi stopped what they were doing and looked towards Naruto. "Use a Henge and transform into the Hokage!" Naruto yelled to his apprentice.

The frown on Konohamaru's face bothered Naruto just a little bit, "WHY!? THAT WON'T DO ANYTHING!" Konohamaru shouted back, still angry that his new attack didn't work.

The shinobi however raised an eyebrow and adopted a questioning expression which was not lost on Naruto.

"Just do it, Baka!" Naruto shouted back. If he were correct, this would change the tune of that arrogant bastard...both of them.

Konohamaru was still frowning but he obeyed. The boy made the correct seals and shouted "Henge!" and was replaced by a picture perfect image of the third Hokage of Konoha.

The shinobi observed the transformation with an unreadable expression. Without a word he pushed his glasses up on his nose before he……smiled.

Naruto had been correct. All the training he and Konohamaru had done was far form a lost cause. When he first started to teach the brat, Konohamaru hadn't been able to do a simple Henge properly, now he stood there as his grandfather, fully clothed in his robes, smoking his pipe. It was picture perfect.

The shinobi looked from Konohamaru to Naruto with badly concealed approval. "It would seem that your time was not wasted Honourable-Grandson," proclaimed the shinobi. "Even so, it's late and you have to start early tomorrow. We still have a lot of ground to cover for you to become Hokage!"

Turning his attention to Naruto, the shinobi continued "I would like to talk to you after I have walked the grandson home, if that is possible?"

Naruto became a bit apprehensive of the sudden, friendly tone the shinobi used. The memories of his conversation with Mizuki was still fresh so to have a stranger wanting to talk to him, after dropping off the only other person there, made him immediately suspicious.

Still, the old goat had assured him that if anyone asked him to do something he was unsure of, he should let him know. He also recommended that such conversations should happen in front of witnesses, so…

"I'll be at 'Ichiraku's Ramen'," he told the shinobi. If there were any reliable witnesses in Konoha, it was Teuchi and Ayame.

The shinobi just nodded in response before turning back to Konohamaru, "It's getting late and you have made some impressive progress today. I think its best you stop for today, to rest and recuperate. In the morning, we'll see how much you have improved, but remember to say good night before we go."

Konohamaru had been observing the interaction and looked a little suspicious, but eventually he walked over to Naruto. "Hey, Hey. Nisan," he whispered. "What was that? Why did he change his mind?"

"I think he's impressed by your 'Henge'," he whispered back, not too sure of the shinobi himself.

Konohamaru frowned, "Why? A Henge does no damage at all! It is a weak jutsu!" he almost shouted in frustration.

Before his last year at the academy, when he finally got it right, Naruto would have agreed with Konohamaru's logic. However, he'd used the jutsu in so many pranks that his perspective of the technique was much more colourful now.

"It's a very useful jutsu for other things than fighting, and you sucked at it when we started earlier today," he said honestly, if not a bit irritably.

Konohamaru, as Naruto, didn't like to hear that he sucked at anything, even if he didn't anymore, but he grudgingly agreed. "Hey niisan, can you teach me anything more tomorrow?"

Naruto shock his head, "Tomorrow I'll be assigned to a team, so I won't have much spare time. Just continue to work hard ok. We can play again when I have some free time, ok?"

That seemed to hit a few buttons with Konohamaru, and his face instantly flushed in anger. "DO YOU THINK WE'RE PLAYING?! I'M TRAINING TO BE THE NEXT HOKAGE!"

Naruto patted the boy on the head playfully, but that only served to enrage the boy further.

"THAT'S IT! You are no longer my sensei!" Konohamaru stopped his raging speech and pointed at Naruto for dramatic effect, "FROM NOW ON WE ARE RIVALS!"

Even though Konohamaru's words were hostile, Naruto knew they weren't meant to be hurtful. Konohamaru saw him as a worthy rival. They shared the same ambition, to be Hokage. In other words, Konohamaru saw him as someone that could become Hokage. He believed in him.

It felt truly good to have someone believing in him, but Konohamaru's display called for a real classy exit. _Now to pull it off_.

The turned himself halfway around, showing that he was about to leave, "Well then we're rivals, it's too bad that I am far ahead of you. One day though, we'll fight for the title of Hokage!"

He started walking away and shouted back over his shoulder, "Remember, there are no shortcuts. You better train hard to catch up, Konohamaru!"

Naruto didn't see it, but Konohamaru was deeply touched by his words. Mostly it was because he called him by name.

///////////////////////

Later that day, the shinobi found Naruto at Ichiraku's. He seated himself so quietly, that Naruto didn't even notice him until he placed his order.

"One bowl, miso-Ramen please."

The sound of his voice, even though it was both calm and civil, and not really directed at him, startled Naruto so much that he nearly spat out the broth he'd been drinking. Luckily he didn't; miso was his favourite flavour after all.

"Damn! You scared me!" Naruto snapped at the tall shinobi, not really thinking of how his accusation reflected more badly on himself than it did on the one he was accusing.

The shinobi just smiled at him, "I apologize," he said, as Teuchi started preparing is meal. "Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Ebisu, I'm an elite trainer of shinobi, the personal trainer for the grandson of our beloved Hokage," Ebisu seemed rather proud of that fact, even Naruto had no trouble seeing it.

There was something that needed to be fixed though. "His name is Konohamaru," Naruto injected before Ebisu had time to continue his explanation.

Ebisu was a little confused over why Naruto would tell him what his charge's name was, but understood that it meant something. What had been said after he arrived where the two boys were eating had told him that something meaningful had transpired.

He wouldn't be much of a Jônin if he couldn't read the expressions on children's faces, after all. So he just smiled and pushed his glasses up on his nose before answering, "You're correct of course, I'm the personal trainer of Konohamaru-san, the grandson of Hokage-sama. That's why I wanted to talk to you."

Naruto glanced suspiciously over at Ebisu. There was no hint of impatience, but then again, Mizuki had been the same when he tricked him into stealing the scroll.

"I must say that I was most impressed by how well you taught him the 'Henge'. And it only took you one day to do it," Ebisu continued, not noticing Naruto's questioning look.

_Ignore the compliments! Must not be careless just because he__'s saying I'm awesome!_ Naruto furiously thought to himself. His ego was one of his own worst enemies. He caught Ayame's smile, as she placed Ebisu's order. It was all the reassurance he needed. He wasn't alone here.

"But to do it is such a manner…is unworthy of him," Ebisu finished sharply, after politely thanking Ayame.

Naruto found the last sentence familiar in some way. It wasn't the words, as such, more the tone that he used. He had heard the same disappointed tone being used in the academy…by Iruka-sensei…

"I thank you for your words of wisdom that you shared with Konohamaru-san," Ebisu continued. "He must learn what it takes to be a Hokage if he is to ever become one. But why did you teach him…such a…disgraceful use of the technique?"

Naruto realized something from how Ebisu bit of his words, trying his best not to think of the 'Oiroke no Jutsu'. Ebisu really cared for Konohamaru, he really wanted what was best for the little gaki, and not just because he was his trainer.

It reminded him of how Iruka-sensei would talk, whenever he tried to discourage his pranks by commenting on his abuse of his ninja skills. He would scold him for causing trouble and wasting people's time, but sometimes he would say something or have a look in his eye that told Naruto that he was actually impressed by how he used what he'd been taught in class.

It was the same with Ebisu, he seemed impressed that Naruto had managed to drill the Henge into Konohamaru, but he was not happy over the use they had found for the technique. The comparison effectively crushed any doubts about Ebisu's intentions; even it was hardly proof of anything.

"He asked me to teach him the technique I used to defeat the Hokage!" Naruto said happily, all previous doubts forgotten.

Ebisu's reaction was comical to say the least. The second Naruto finished his sentence, ramen broth shot out of the elite teacher's nose.

Even Teuchi and his daughter Ayame couldn't hold back a chuckle at the sight. Naruto was laughing so hard that he had trouble staying in his seat.

Both Teuchi and Ayame were paying close attention to the conversation, as Naruto had begged them to do so. They were among the few people that Naruto truly trusted in the world. To Naruto, Teuchi was like a friendly old uncle, and his daughter Ayame was like a fun older cousin, that always had time to spare while they worked.

It shamed him that he'd often forgot about them when he felt lonely or down after failing something at the academy. It was probably because they weren't ninjas, but it still felt as something of a betrayal to not think of them as someone that he could talk to.

"Wh-What!?" Ebisu stuttered between coughs. "I a-asked you, _'cough'_, how you taught him the 'Henge'!" he added when he had cleaned his shirt a little with the back of his hand and blown the remains of the broth out of his air pipe. "The Hokage would never fall for such a trick, not in a million years!"

Naruto had finished laughing and smiled at the shinobi. "How about, if you teach me about a jutsu, then I'll tell you how I taught him the Henge, ok?"

Naruto knew it was blackmail, but Ebisu had said he was an elite teacher of shinobi, he probably knew something cool. Not to mention, how often did you get the chance to have one-on-one lessons with a Jônin?

Ebisu thought it over for a minute before he nodded. "That is acceptable, but I won't teach you anything destructive, is that clear?"

Naruto pouted, but nodded anyway. He was a Genin now, a ninja. He needed to expand his arsenal…even if it didn't cause things to explode.

"Don't make it a habit of bribing older shinobi, Naruto-kun," Ayame interrupted in a playful voice.

Naruto gave her his trademark smile, "Of course not Ayame-Oneesan."

"We'll be looking forward to hear about the new Jutsu tomorrow Naruto," Teuchi added as they made to leave.

"Gochisousama! Ok, I'll tell you everything about it Ojisan! Bye Ayame-Oneesan"

Ebisu gave his own, not so loud "Gochisousama," and followed Naruto as he left.

Naruto didn't know why they suddenly took an active role at the end of the conversation, but he would later try to see underneath the underneath, and come to realize that the ramen chef and his daughter understood much more than they let on.

Probably thinking that Naruto was still worried about something happening, they had made their presence apparent to the shinobi, just to show the shinobi that they now expected Naruto the next day, marking themselves as witnesses of the conversation.

It was probably more for Naruto's benefit than anything else, but if Naruto hadn't already been convinced of Ebisu's good intentions, it would have been the most reassuring thing they could have done.

///////////////////////////////

On their way to training-ground sixteen, Ebisu told him about something called tree walking. It was a simple thing that most ninjas should know, as it was more an exercise than anything else.

"So, all I have to do is apply chakura to my feet then I can walk on any surface?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Ebisu pushed his glasses further up on his nose, and shook his head. "No, it's not just to apply chakura to your feet. You must apply just the right amount to generate a magnetic pull between your feet and the surface that you wish to walk upon," Ebisu had just demonstrated how it was done once, and Naruto had been very impressed. You didn't see a person walk upside down under a branch every day.

His own attempt on the exercise however was met with failure every time. Even so, Ebisu had assured him that if he kept practicing, he would soon be able to walk up trees like any other shinobi.

Ebisu had conveniently left out that the spot under your feet was the hardest place to manipulate chakura, figuring that Naruto was more of a 'hands on' learner, and that too much theory would probably just be a hindrance than anything else.

"Now that I've kept my part, could you tell me how you managed to teach Konohamaru-san the 'Henge'?" Ebisu asked after the quick overview of the tree-walking exercise.

Naruto nodded happily, but he had a nagging feeling that the simplicity of how he'd done it would be an issue. "It's rather simple really. I just told him what he was doing wrong when he did the transformation."

Ebisu nodded, much like a child taking in a new concept. Or like an adult that was patiently waiting for a child to say what it wanted to say, even though they already knew about what they were being told.

"It helps when someone tells you what you are doing wrong if you fail at doing something," Naruto paused for a bit before he continued, "Just like when the academy instructors adjust your finger position when you are learning the hand-seals at the academy."

Ebisu tilted his head to the side. "Helping step by step you mean?" he inquired.

Naruto nodded. "That, and to show him what he should look like," he answered.

Ebisu adopted a questioning look. "Like… a demonstration?" he asked in a shaky voice. He didn't show it, too much, but his mind was filled with pictures of Naruto using that…disgraceful jutsu in front of Konohamaru, over and over. Corrupting his students innocent mind with naked and sensual poses.

It was a disturbing thought.

Naruto looked thoughtful for a minute. "You know, that would have saved us a lot of time."

Ebisu was sighing inwardly when his fears proved to be unfounded. To think, what kids would do today…

Then Naruto's words hit him. _That would have, saved time? _"What do you mean, saved time?" he asked, almost fearfully.

Naruto didn't register the fear in Ebisu's voice and continued in a cheerful voice, "I took him to the hot springs!"

"What!?" shouted the elite teacher. "You took the honourable-grandson too the hot springs t-to s-show him w-what he should l-look like!?"

The outrage on Ebisu's face was all too apparent. He was sweating again and his eyebrow was twitching. He also seemed on the verge of having a nosebleed.

"What? I had to show him how he should look! You would have screamed if you'd seen what he transformed into on his first tries!" Naruto shouted back. They were loud, but the initial hostility that Ebisu had shown was not to be seen. It was more like he was shouting out of principle.

"W-What is t-this behaviour!?" Ebisu continued, "S-such behaviour is in-indecent! I will not forgive it! How rude! K-Kids have no right to look through the hole in the fence at the second level, above the entrance of the women's bath house!"

Naruto's face went blank. Ebisu was a pervert, a closet-pervert, since he was in denial. He'd just admitted to know about the frequently used spy-hole for Konohagakure's peeping population (which was a rather large amount of the inhabitants).

"You know about the hole too," Naruto informed the panicking shinobi.

"I-I do not know w-what you're talking about! Aha ha-ha-ha! No, no, kids today! Not knowing their place! Yes, yes that's it! Heh, imagine me looking at n-naked women! How absurd! How rude!" Ebisu continued, all the time smiling like a mad-man.

This time, Naruto didn't think twice about summoning over twenty clones to his side. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he shouted, filling the clearing with Narutos.

Ebisu seemed to calm down a bit. He almost seemed relieved to get his mind off what he had just heard. "So, you want to fight me now, eh?" he taunted. "I warn you, I am a Jônin, not a Chuunin, like the traitor Mizuki. I will not go down easy."

Ebisu's tone was light, almost relieved. Naruto didn't even think about his own smile, and how it gave a clear message that he had no serious intention of harming Ebisu.

Naruto didn't answer the taunt either; he and his clones just weaved the necessary hand-seal and cried out "Henge!" in union to a baffled opponent.

With several puffs of smoke not one Naruto was left to bee seen. In their stead were over twenty young blond girls with thin lines of smoke covering up their more personal areas.

If that wasn't enough, all the girls suddenly started swarming the baffled shinobi that was now sweating like a pig, with a stupid expression on his face.

They latched onto arms and legs, caressed his chin and kept making exited noises, all in the effort to break this closet-pervert once and for all.

With a final twitch of his eyebrow, the shinobi shot backwards, off his feet, propelled by a stream of blood shooting out of his nose.

"I call that my Haremu no Jutsu!" Naruto stated excitedly to, the now unconscious, Ebisu. He figured that the smile on the pervert's face was an indication of him not being seriously harmed.

At least this pervert was no longer in denial.

The effectiveness of the technique was astounding. Not only had its predecessor defeated the village's strongest ninja, now this new variation had defeated a Jônin.

If he kept this up, he might be able to create techniques strong enough to defeat an entire village like this. A thought of Sasuke's face with the expression Ebisu had after his defeated entered his mind's eye.

The mental image was enough to make Naruto bark out in laughter, and he didn't stop laughing before he was well home.

/////////////////////////

When he finally opened the door, it was about eleven o'clock. He was tired but happy with how the day had played out. The prank at the end was just a bonus, a joyful change from the highlight it once had been.

He'd gotten a student, a rival and respect for his ability as a teacher. Not to mention that he had learned something cool. At least how to do something that was cool, once he got it right however, it would be really cool. All in all, it had been a great day.

As he walked by the mirror, he paused. He looked different without his jacket on. His goggles hung around his neck also did something to the overall picture.

He looked carefree, more relaxed. Maybe he should continue to just use a t-shirt? Kami knew that some days could get unbearably hot in the jacket.

He could perhaps have a short-sleeved mesh-shirt underneath, like Shikamaru used under his open jacket.

With a nod he decided to try it out. He needed to place the Uzumaki symbol on his new uniform though. He hated working with needle and thread, but it would probably be worth it.

His goggles were usually placed on his forehead, keeping his hair out of his eyes. Now they hung rather loosely around his neck, looking much more carefree. He also saw that if the goggles had been his hitai-ite, it would be perfect protection for his throat. _'People always say that I'm a knucklehead anyway…'_

He took off his goggles and placed them by his hitai-ite, before picking up the official sign of Konoha and tied it around his neck. He thought it looked good, so he decided that he would try wearing it like that the next day. Maybe people would notice.

Later as he got ready for bed, he thought back on the large Ero-Sennin that he'd dreamt about the night before. It had been a great dream, and he had actually learned something from it.

Not many could say that they learned important lessons from dreams. He hoped that he would dream about the old man again, maybe he would teach him a cool jutsu next, that would be really cool.

With that final thought, he went to sleep.

/////////////////////////////////////////

Jiraiya wasn't even halfway finished with his goal for the day. There was so much new information to acknowledge. Threats, events, jutsus and detailed mission data that had yet to play itself out. He had started to write things down, just in case he would loose the memories as fast as he gained them.

At first he had thought it was the works of a genjutsu, but after a reverse summoning to the great sage's side, he had been convinced. Naruto had actually found a way to either travel in time, or the more likely alternative, found a parallel dimension, which was this one.

The funny part was that Naruto had flunked out with minor calculations and not with the big ones. He had been so preoccupied with the danger to the original through use of Kage Bunshin that he had focused entirely on the security aspect of the jutsu. He had completely forgotten about where the memories would go after they dispelled.

The memories, which should return to the original, didn't return to the other dimension, as there were a couple of sources of chakura that was indistinguishable from their sources nearer to them in this dimension. So, as energies goes, they sought out their sources counterpart, which was the same but much closer.

So here was Jiraiya, not the one that was a toad sitting atop of the Hokage's head, but a younger version on the same individual, with a nation's worth of information.

The old shinobi was thankful to the dimensional counterpart of his godson for not only arming Konoha with enough knowledge to fight off several invasions and terrorist attacks, but enough to prevent all out shinobi world war.

With that though came sobering realizations. His godson would probably be in the same situation as he himself was in. More knowledge than what was healthy. He would have to send word to Konoha about how important he would be, so they wouldn't think him crazy or worse.

Naruto, the little boy that he'd named. He'd completely forgotten about that fact until this morning. He knew who he was of course, but he didn't know the boy. He'd seen him a few times over the years, but hadn't talked to him since he was three years old. Too busy keeping an eye on Orochimaru's whereabouts and now the Akatsuki organisation.

It was important work, and there were few others that could do it, but it still saddened him to think about how lonely Naruto had been growing up.

With the memories, there also came the knowledge and impression he'd gotten through conversation with Naruto throughout his other life. Naruto had been safer, but that wasn't enough for a child. Even though it had shaped and formed a person out of legend (which Jiraiya himself had created), and brought peace and prosperity to the shinobi world.

He felt both apprehensive and happy to finally meet Naruto. It was no telling how he'd act now that he too knew what…could have transpired in the future. Would he be angry, happy? Only time would tell.

With a sigh he continued his recording work. There was so much to be done.

**End of chapter 1.**

Finally, I've figured out how to replace chapters on . Yes, I am an idiot. Updated: 09/12/09 (Updated again 10/15/09)

Author notes:

Hiraishin (Lightning rod) was the Yondaime's signature jutsu (as if you didn't know that). We all know that it was used with a special kunai, with seals decorating the handle. That's why I think it's fair to call it a sealing technique and the reason why no one else have been able to copy it (except maybe Madara). As its name implies, the seals work as a lightning rod, drawing the user too the seal in the blink of an eye. I believe that it is a teleportation technique that moves the user with the speed of light, and solid material cannot move at that speed, only energy (Or the particles that light is made of). That's my guess on how Madara managed to escape from Shino, as light wouldn't have made the bugs move at all. Anyway, the theory of Naruto's use of the jutsu in this chapter, is that he was able to shoot the energy that Hiraishin transform the user into, into another, almost identical, dimension. An 'AU' if you will. Either that, or he accidentally created a dimension on his own…anyway, that is where this story is placed. In an identical, alternative universe.

Jiraiya did die in the other universe (the sender universe), but as Orochimaru, he found a way back. He is now, then, reborn a Toad, as he found the afterlife a dull place to be. He plans to play a cruel prank on Tsunade in the future, tricking her into kissing him, saying that only a kiss from his true love will turn him into a human again. In the sender universe, this has yet to play itself out fully. It is however not important to the story, so I won't go further into it.

Naruto doesn't have the memories because he is so young. He receives the memories, through dreams and feelings. Jiraiya is older and a much more experienced information gatherer, as the professional shinobi he is, he is able to remember what 'his' clone left behind. There is nothing else that caused the difference between Naruto and Jiraiya's situation (except the different severity of their headaches).

(This is nothing but speculations on my part, gathered from conversations with friends, nothing scientifically proven or researched): I know this is almost like a time-travel-story, and in that regard, it was supposed to be. However, I was struck by the thought that even if one was to go back in time to change things, the place you left would still exist, without you and without change. Either that or just not exist at all. In short, you would have left everyone you love behind (or killed them outright). Even if you start changing things for the better, where you are going, it's not the same place as from where you came from. That's why I settled on Kage Bunshin, and memory transfer across parallel dimensions. It seemed much more fair to both Narutos (the grown one in the dreams, and the young one in the story), and everyone that loves him.

Naruto won't get things right away, but he will get more jutsu, and learn faster then he does in canon. The tree-walking was not planned, I just needed something that was easy to learn, and not destructive. I want the story to be based more around shinobi ways (trickery and deception), and not so much about the jutsu involved (No fear, he will have several good jutsu as well).

My greatest fear is making Naruto too mature. I want Naruto to be a kid, but a little more thoughtful when he focuses (and that shouldn't be too often either). That, and making him too 'OOC'


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This story is written without permission, for fan purposes only.

**Afterthought****s**

**Chapter 2:**

_**Friends:**_

_Birthday parties were something that happened to other people. At least, that's what Naruto had always thought._

_Naruto had never concerned himself about his birthday while he grew up, the only difference from any ordinary day was that Teuchi-Ojisan and Ayame-Oneesan congratulate him and gave him an extra treat and a visit from the old Hokage. __There was never a celebration for him like the other children had, but that was alright. The small sign of recognition was enough to make the day special. _

_That was why he__ never really thought about birthday celebrations and parties. It was only some obscure events that happened to other people, and was, for some reason, filled with happy laughter, and the whole thing had been one of life's many mysteries._

_He'd__ always hoped to be invited to one, of course, but never in a million years had he ever believed that someone would ever bother to throw him one._

_But now that he and his friends were all seated around a wide table in the back of __the restaurant, the realization was starting to creep up on him. _

_They were actually celebrating his bir__thday. They were celebrating __**his**__ eighteenth birthday. _

_It had been such a surprise that he had barely been able to utter three of four complete sentences since they told him. Before that, his only true goal that day__ had been to beat Chouji in a Ramen eating contest (which he had every plan of fulfilling as soon as he got his senses back). _

_Now, looking around the table at all his friends as they talked cheerfully among themselves, he couldn't stop himself grinning like an idiot._

_Kiba and Lee were having a heated dis__cussion over Lee's claim, that tortoises made better ninja's then dogs. Tenten was trying to calm the two, with minimal success. Neji was calmly explaining table manners to Sai (and the reason why people didn't like to hear him talk about the human reproductive organs while eating). _

_Shikamaru was snoring audibly,__ he claimed it to be a natural defence he had developed against Ino's voice (and orders that could be ignored), who were busy talking to her boyfriend Chouji, who in turn, was happily eating from what was left on the table. _

_Right across from Naruto, Iruka-sensei was interviewing Shino about his upcoming lecture at the academy. He was suppose to teach the children about poisonous insects and spiders, but Iruka was worried that the children might not understand everything he would say, and tried to give the younger man some pointers on how to interact with children (something Shino never grasped completely). _

_Hinata had been there too,__ a moment ago, but she had forgotten something and ran off to get it. _

_Hyuga Hinata. __She was the sweetest, kindest and the most beautiful woman alive, and she was his girlfriend. If he could make his smile any larger, he would have. She was without a doubt, the best thing to ever happen to him and he missed her already. _

_The only people missing were Sasuke and Sakura, but they were on their way.__ Knowing the two, he guessed it to be Sasuke's fault. He was the only person that was as inexperienced with relationships as Naruto himself. Sakura had been rather shocked by the fact that the Uchiha genius was a real klutz when it came to his knowledge of girls._

_As he sat there thinking about relationships, __a couple of soft, slender arms snaked their way around his neck and hugged him from behind. He turned his head and was greeted by soft lips as they placed a light kiss on his cheek, "Happy birthday, Naruto-kun."_

_He couldn't stop the blush that coloured his cheeks, but he didn't care, because Hinata was back. __"Thank you, Hinata-chan," he replied happily and saw that she also sported a cute blush from her own action. _

_Seeing the two brought a__ "D'awww!" from Ino and Tenten, and a playful snicker from Kiba which were quickly silenced by someone's elbow. ._

_Hinata just smiled and placed a cake, that she had picked up on the way, on the table so the others could reach it. She then seated herself next to him, and placed a small gift in his hands. She didn't say anything, but her eyes urged him to open it._

"_Can I open it now?" he asked, just to make sure__ that he read her correctly. Getting together with Hinata had made him more considerate of others, and he was working hard to improve his social skills, clearly showing the influence Hinata was having on him._

_Hinata didn't say anything, she just smiled shyly and nodded. She too had changed somewhat since they got together. Her confidence was greater then ever, even as her shyness remained. She had also developed a playful attitude and was not above pulling a prank on him from time to time, but her kind nature always prevented her from doing anything too embarrassing._

_Getting a__n 'okay' from Hinata, Naruto tore into the wrapping like a happy five year old, eager to find out what Hinata had given him. Sakura had commented that such behaviour made him look greedy, but he couldn't help himself._

_The gift Hinata had gotten surprised him. It was a book, featuring research on animals and animal senses. The release date revealed that it was very ne__w, released earlier that year._

_Her choice of present confused him a little, but realization soon dawned on him. He had mentioned his interest in developing new detection techniques that could be taught at the academy a while back, but he had been out of ideas. _

_It was just like Hinata t__o remember something like that. Ever helpful of others, she wouldn't miss a chance to aid others in reaching a goal, and helping him help the academy, she would walk though fire for such a chance._

_Faster then she could react, he spun around and embraced her in a__ strong hug. "Thank you Hinata-chan!"_

_Hinata __squealed in surprise and her pink blush suddenly bloomed into a rosy red from the sudden show of affection. Never the less, she hugged him back almost immediately. _

"_You're…very welcome…Naruto-kun," she replied slowly, fighting her stutter that threatened to reappear at her momentary surprise._

"_Sensory apparatus in the animal kingdom: A thorough and detailed overview the workings of animal senses," he heard a familiar voice, one that tried it's best to hide any sort of interest, say when he finally let go of Hinata so she would be able to get back to her own seat. Sasuke had entered the room, and was now holding the book while he read the title out loud. _

"_I didn't know you were interested in biology Naruto…" he commented in a smug voice, suggesting that he had more to say. Before he had time to add his usual sarcastic comment however, Sakura walked out from behind him and over to Naruto's side, giving the blond a nearly backbreaking hug, "Happy birthday Naruto."_

_Sasuke, who was holding__ her hand, also gave him an uneasy smile and congratulated him, with no trace of the comment Sakura had interrupted. _

_Most people would write the uneasy smile off as his__ disappointment at being interrupted, but Naruto knew that Sasuke was very happy to have Sakura stop his less acceptable behaviour. His uneasy smile was just the outcome of Sakura's happy one._

_It was the smile she used when she was annoyed, disapproved of somethi__ng, disagreed with someone or was violently upset. Having been on the receiving end of that smile on several occasions, Naruto knew exactly what category that smile fell into. _

_He didn't even have to look at Sasuke's hand, the one that Sakura was currently holding (which by some strange coincident seemed to have lost its colour and if you listened carefully, produced faint cracking noises) to know who her anger was directed at this time._

"_Biology you say?__" she asked, trying her best to cover up Sasuke's late intention. She didn't say anything more, but she gave Naruto one of her asking looks. She was probably as confused by the topic as nearly everyone else. _

_Both__ of his old team-mates were doing well for themselves. Sakura was a superb medic Nin and soon, if the rumours were true, to be the director of the hospital. Sasuke had risen to the station of ANBU-captain, showing just how good he really were, even now that he no longer possessed the famed, now extinct, dojutsu._

_But all that was of little interest among their friends. The fact that they were now dating was of much greater interest to the village at large, not to mention__ their close circle of friends. _

_Naruto was about to explain when Shino felt the need to give his two cents. __"It has a good collection of scientific facts on various insect sensory abilities featured."_

_The Aburame was such a quiet individual that Naruto had nearly forgotten that he was there with them, so Shino's input startled him somewhat. He was careful not to voice his thoughts about it though. For 'a man of mysteries', Shino could be unusual touchy. _

"_You've __read it?" Sakura asked as the two newcomers seated them selves at the only two remaining seats at the table. The others, who had been waiting for them to arrive, started to help themselves with the cakes. _

_Shino shook his head. "No, my clan helped supply research that was to be used in writing it," he replied, not even looking up._

_Silence followed, until Kiba __snapped his fingers, shifting the attention to him. "Oh, I remember! I think my sister said something about a man asking questions about dogs and their sense of smell…that was…months ago."_

"_Yes, it should have taken several years to gather all the necessary information from experts…and from shinobi clans no less. I would say that the writers are some very brave men, to go around asking questions from…gatherings of people that secure their trade by keeping those secrets," Shino replied, a touch of respect in his voice._

_Naruto ha__d to agree with that statement. He was well aware of the value secrecy had in the shinobi world. After all, a secret that is known is a secret that can be countered and used._

"_As I recall," Shino continued__, "The man who came to see us was a civilian. He was careful to ask specific questions and made it perfectly clear that anything we did not wish to share, he would not pry into. He was a very reasonable individual." _

"_Who is he__?" asked Tenten. She, as the rest of them, wanted to know about these people. Shinobi didn't make a habit of sharing information, and any civilian who had the courage to knock on their door and ask questions that could be considered 'trade secrets' was people that was worth hearing about. _

"_Yes! Who is the youthful individual that would go so far to fuel the fire of his trade!?" Lee joined her. _

_Sakura looked at the last page, which would normally feature the author of any given book. To her surprise, there were none. "It say's that the book was researched and published by the University in the capital city, here in Hi no Kuni. The head researcher's name is…Uchiyamada, it says here that he's…sixty-two years old."_

_Lee just got__ more exited when he heard this. "YOSH! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH IS STRONG ENOUGH TO EVEN BURN BRIGHTLY WITHIN OUR SENIOR CITIZEN!" he cheered loudly, causing Tenten to hit the back of his head. _

_Neji settled on a humoured smile as Lee tended the growing bump on his head, before settling back to hear the rest__ of what Shino had to say._

"_Yes the man that visited us __was at an advanced aged," Shino confirmed. "But as it is published by a university, it would be reasonable to assume that the book holds the combined work and research of several individuals. I, for one, am glad that research is now being done by civilians and not shinobi."_

_Sakura, Hinata,__ and Shikamaru nodded their agreement to Shino's words. The others were more confused. After a short time, Konohamaru lost his patience and had to ask. "Why is it better?"_

_Shikamaru was the one that answered, noting that Shino was getting tired of talking, probably from the way he was eying the cakes the others had already started to eat. _

"_It__'s because research done by Shinobi has ultimately one usage, combat. But research done by, and for, the civilian population no doubt will be used more peacefully, and ultimately spread through trade. It's a mark of progress." _

_It was about this time that Ino__, who had gotten bored with the conversation, turned the attention back to something that could be described as a more pressing matter._

"_What's more important now however is this rumour that I've heard...Why on earth would you wish to have an eating contest on your birthday, Naruto?" she shot in before Shikamaru had time to say anything more. _

_The sudden change of topic did__n't faze anyone. They all knew Ino well enough to know that she would get bored eventually, and then take matters in her own hand to solve the problem._

_The eating contest was news to some of his friends,__ and from the look on the faces around the table it was clear that Ino wasn't the only one that wanted to know why he would want one. _

_They tried not to show their interest of course, but by this time Naruto was a better ninja then any of them (arguably of course) and was able to spot their curiosity (not on Shino of course though, who was happily digging into his first piece of cake)._

_The question deserved and answer, b__ut Naruto doubted that it would satisfy their curiosity. "I knew that today…I would be the one to choose what to eat," He responded with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head._

_It was received as he had expected. Several blank stares were directed back at him, and a humoured smile from Hinata and Sakura. _

_With a happy sigh he continued. "I know that I onl__y have a chance to win if it's Ramen. I'm not dumb enough to challenge an Akimichi to an eating contest without being able to choose what we should eat." _

_This brought another snicker from Kiba and a sigh from Hinata. She was used to her boyfriend being more thoughtful, but this was a petty challenge that Naruto had been planning for nearly half-a-year. Not to mention that Naruto __was__ a big enough fool to challenge the Akimichi to eating contests without being able to choose the dish. _

_The __heavy set shinobi seated by Ino's side just smiled. Chouji was just as sensitive about his weight as he had been when he was a child, but Naruto did make a valid point. Not the part where he said that he would not challenge his family without the choice, as he had already challenged several Akimichi to eating contests and lost every time, as they, the challenged party would have the choice of weapon. It was almost always BBQ, the fuel of the Akimichi, and now the bane of Naruto. _

_On the other hand, the challenges had made Naruto more prone to eating vegetables, much to Hinata's__ secret delight. It was only so much Ramen the 'normal' human body could take before getting sick of the dish. Naruto, on that matter was a completely different story. _

_Chouji gave his girlfriend a peck on the cheek, making Ino blush__ from the light touch of his lips. He got to his feet quietly and made his way over to Naruto. _

_Naruto was getting __worried that he had insulted one of his kindest friends and was about to apologise when Chouji lifted him as easily as a feather, and tucked him under his arm and roared. "TOO THE RAMEN STAND! AND LET THE BATTLE COMMENCE!"_

_Konohamaru found the scene hilarious and started laughing so hard that it broke into a coughing fit. With a shake of her head from Chouji's antics, Ino started patting the younger boy (still a kid in their eyes) on the back. _

_He was a close friend of Naruto, and they constantly schemed new ways to trick an op__ponent with new perverted jutsu. Their latest creation was not exactly perverted, but the effect it had on kunoichi and civilian woman was terrifying._

_Ino shuddered at the though of the dreaded 'Chibi no Jutsu'. __It had the ability to reduce any female to the state of a nine year old school girl getting a pony. _

_Naruto and Chouji were out the door before anyone else. As Chouji made his way to their destination, Naruto enjoyed the setting sun, visible on the end of the street. It was beautiful, until it started to beep. Wait…the sun was beeping? _

////////

Naruto's hand fumbled clumsily over the nightstand, trying to silence the evil device that was responsible for his torment. It had brought him back from a land where he had lots of friends, and lots of ramen. What it had done was unforgivable.

Resisting the urge to toss the infernal device out the window, he got up in a sitting position and tried to get a grip on reality. The sharp rays of the sun helped him with that task, but it was far from comfortable.

It just wasn't fair, denying him all that ramen, something his belly eagerly agreed upon. A few seconds later he sighed in defeat. He didn't have time to dwell upon life's troubles now, he needed to get to the academy; after all, he didn't want to miss team assignment.

With an exaggerated stretch he fell out of his bed. It was tempting to just stay there, on the floor, but he decided against it. He needed to get ready for the big day.

Just like the day before, the dream he had still lingered after he woke up. He started to move automatically through his morning routine, but his thoughts were occupied with what his mind had cooked up during the night. There had been no pervert in this dream, just him and…friends.

Naruto didn't have many friends, just a couple of people that tolerated him more then others. Shikamaru, Chouji and Kiba were the only people of his age that he could consider to have something of a friendship with. After all, they had played together at times, both after and during classes at the academy (Much to Iruka-sensei's dismay).

In the dream however, he had lots of friends. People like Sasuke-teme, Shino and Ino had been there, and people that he had never even heard about. He would have remembered the one with the bowl-cut, especially when you added those eyebrows.

As for the others…He had never even spoken to Shino, well he tried to, but it got boring when the larger boy told him that his suggestions were too chaotic and irrational. But still, he had been there, meaning just as much as his other 'friends'.

Neither had he ever gotten along with Sasuke, the genius bastard, who had been like a best friend in the dream. Strangely, he didn't feel what he usually did towards any of them. Usually, just thinking of Sasuke would make him irritated…but not today.

What was really different from any other dream however, was his dream girlfriend. It had been totally different from any other dream he had ever had involving a girl.

When he usually dreamt about a girl, it had always been Sakura. And those dreams nearly always had some sort of danger for him to save her from.

It was strange to think of Hinata in such a role. She was cute, true, but she always looked away when he saw her, and whenever he tried to talk to her, her voice would be little more then a whisper, making it hard to hear anything she said.

Dream Hinata however was very different from the one he knew. She was just as kind as the Hinata he knew, but she was much more open and outgoing. She was also older then she was now, and thinking about how close she had been to him in the dream almost made him blush.

There had been no danger, no peril to save people from. There had just been her and their friends, celebrating his birthday. It had felt so real, like he could just reach out and touch her hair and he could imagine her fresh flowery scent…it made him feel tingly all over.

Now, just the thought about the dark haired girl from class made him feel the same as on his first day at the academy. It felt like his belly was filled with fluttering butterflies and that there was no cloud in sight. It felt good, just like a fresh start.

With some difficulty, and regret, he pushed the thoughts away. He didn't have time to dwell on dreams today as he really needed to be on time. He didn't want to miss being assigned to a team after all.

A stray thought about teams brought back the sensation from his dream. There it had been him, Sakura and Sasuke…something he probably would have thought as both a blessing and a curse yesterday. Now…it really didn't sound all that bad.

With renewed effort, he shook the distracting thought away and got back to his morning routine. His previews attempt at suppressing the dream just made him double his effort, and he fared much better this time around.

He ate his breakfast in a hurry, not even checking his milk for anything green this time. He was sort of glad that he didn't taste much of it when he gulped it down, as it was a bit more…chewy than normal.

The t-shirt he'd decided to wear was waiting for him in the bathroom. He'd taken some time last night to attach the 'Uzumaki' swirl on the shoulder, but it wouldn't remain there if he had to spar against someone. It was only fastened with some thin thread, but it was the best he had time for last night.

If he wasn't such a fast healer, he would have more then just the few bloodstains around the patch to show for his effort, but that was life. He pulled the t-shirt on with little ceremony and proceeded to brush his teeth. He considered brushing his teeth the most important thing to do in the morning.

He still remembered the horror stories Hokage-Ojisan had told him about what happened to people that didn't brush their teeth (Which he had told Naruto after he discovered that the Hokage could remove his own teeth). What had really made an impression were the pictures he had shown him. Naruto shuddered at the thought of those dreaded photos; he had nightmares for weeks.

When he was done with everything that he needed to do, he picked up his hitai-ite and fastened it loosely around his neck. It did, as a matter of fact, make him look cooler, if that was even possible. It would also be perfect for protecting his throat if it was needed.

Naruto lingered a little in front of the mirror. He traced the lines of the leaf symbol with his finger and smiled. It was happening. He was actually a shinobi, a real shinobi. The first step towards his goal, too become the greatest Hokage ever.

/////////

Hinata entered the classroom with her eyes locked firmly on her feet. It was a habit she thought she had rid herself off months ago, but today she didn't care about her apparent relapse. _He_ wouldn't be there today.

Naruto was the only one to not pass the genin exams this semester, and seeing him so downtrodden and depressed afterwards made the whole thing so much worse.

He had worked so hard and trained for hours on end, but it hadn't been enough. She had seen him practise after class several times, and whenever he didn't get something right, he would just get back to his feet and try again. That was the reason that she admired him so, the ability to always get back up and just try again, no matter what anyone said.

On the genin exam however, he didn't get a second chance, and thus he failed. He'd been so depressed after that, that Hinata couldn't help but feel like she should have failed as well. It wasn't something she should feel guilty about, that she knew, but it was one of those irrational feelings that you couldn't argue with. He had tried harder than she had, harder than anyone, so why shouldn't he also be allowed to pass?

Why couldn't they test them on the 'Henge no Jutsu' instead of the 'Bunshin no Jutsu'? She knew, without a doubt, that he would have passed that test easily.

She had seen him work on the transformation technique so many times, so much that he had perfected it to the point that he was probably the best in their class with that particular jutsu.

He was so familiar with it that he not only knew how to impersonate people flawlessly, he'd even started using it in his pranks, showing that he was able to utilize it properly as well.

Sadly, his perfection of the 'Henge' was on the cost of the 'Bunshin', which they had chosen to test them in. After all his hard work, it just wasn't fair that he should be the only one to fail.

With a depressed sigh she reasoned that, not looking for him wouldn't magically make him pass and appear in the classroom. She lifted her eyes from the floor and looked around the classroom. What she saw made her heart skip a beat.

Naruto was there…… and he was…waving at her. She didn't know why, or anything else at the moment, but she automatically averted her eyes, hiding the blush she felt blooming on her cheeks. Her feet automatically made their way towards her seat, while her lungs started working again with a considerable effort.

Unconsciously, she had started to tap her fingers together, trying desperately to regain focus as she quickly made her way to her usual seat on the back row. Her head was tingling with all sorts of questions and feelings. _What was he doing here? Did he pass? Why was he waving at me? Should I have waved back? Did I upset him?_

Just seeing him there made her happy, and her belly felt as if it was full of fluttering butterflies. The tingling sensation felt wonderful, even though it threatened to make her giggle uncontrollably. It was the visible blush she could do without, and she made an effort to hide it.

Taking a deep breath, she managed to calm herself enough to think things over more rationally. Naruto wouldn't have waved at her…would he? No, who would?

Wanting for an answer to her question, she dared a glance up from the desk. She noted that Sakura had entered behind her, so Naruto had probably been waving at her. The butterflies settled, and the light tingling was replaced by an uncomfortable hollow feeling in her gut. It was the same she got whenever he tried to ask Sakura for a date.

She watched as Sakura made her way over to where Naruto was now talking to another classmate. She observed with a sad heart as Sakaki walked away, and Sakura demanded that Naruto should move out of her way.

She knew how Naruto would react when Sakura was around. He would start to blush and comply. Then eventually, he would ask her for a date, which in turn would for some reason give her a bellyache.

His reaction this time however surprised her.

She couldn't hear what was said between them, but Naruto just looked at Sakura in confusion before turning towards the person seated on the other side of the bench.

With his head turned away from her, she couldn't see his expression, but as the person sitting there was Uchiha Sasuke, she could imagine that he was frowning. At least, that's what she thought at first, but some instinct told her she was wrong. Somehow, his body-language seemed light, more carefree then it normally did when he was near the number one student in class. It was as if there had never been any tension between them in the first place.

She didn't have time to think over it anymore though, as then the pink haired girl proceeded to trample over her idol, seating herself next to Sasuke.

Hinata lost focus at that point. She was afraid Naruto would see her staring at them, which he had done before, and think her even creepier than he already did.

What she'd seen didn't prove anything of course, but the small change in behaviour pattern was enough to make her imagination go crazy with ideas. _'He could have looked at me!'_ she thought to herself, she could hardly believe it.

She fought the thoughts back. It was no use getting worked up over nothing. It could easily have been anything else. After all, he didn't have any reason to notice her at all. She had done nothing to deserve his attention.

She knew that she was being silly, but Naruto was the person she admired more than anyone in the entire world. She could still remember the first day she'd seen him. He had been so strange in her eyes, and yet, he had been so amazing.

It had been her first day at the academy and she'd been terrified by the new experience. She was alone among people that had known each other for years. That had been terrifying by it self, but the added pressure of not embarrassing the clan was also a heavy burden.

It only got worse when they started testing their skills in front all the others students.

When they were to test their skills in the 'Bunshin no jutsu' for the first time, she had been so terrified that she'd actually felt herself tremble. She would be one of the last to try, but that was a small comfort, as people seemed to pass with no more then one or two tries each.

Then, it had been Naruto's turn. He walked up to their teachers, looking more confident than anyone. When he formed the seals however, only one sick looking clone appeared.

It was normal to fail the first try, even though the others usually didn't produce a thing when they failed, so he had been told to just try again, and again, and again, but it was always the same result. After five attempts, people had started to snicker, and some even started to laugh. Hinata however had been transfixed.

Naruto had become more and more frustrated at his lack of result, but he never gave up. He didn't start crying when people laughed. He never lost his confidence, even as he failed again and again. This display of failure after failure was amusing to the other students, but what Hinata had seen was bravery unlike any other.

In the end, he had imitated the sick look on the Bunshin, and been told to keep practising.

Seeing how he handled losing. Seeing how he never let his failure get to him, and just got back up, she could not help but admire him.

He was everything she wanted to be. He faced everything she was afraid of, but seemed to just shrug it off as if there was nothing to it. When her turn came, she was still terrified. On her first try, she produced nothing. Neither did she do anything on her second try.

She had started to lose her nerve, but the thought of how Naruto refused to give up, made her feel…like she could try again as well. On her third try, she produced a perfect Bunshin. It lasted only a couple of seconds, but it was enough to let her pass, and she knew that she owed it all to Naruto.

Was it any wonder that she became as fixated on the boy as she did? She had been so smitten that she actually sought out stories where the hero's name matched Naruto. She had done it on a whim, after school one day, and to her surprise, she found one book where the hero was named Naruto.

It was called 'The legend of the gutsy ninja', and it had been her favourite book ever since. Another surprise came when she read it and discovered that the hero was just like Naruto in character as well. Everything about hero's personality reminded her of the real Naruto.

It had only served to make her even more curious about the boy. That was also when she'd taken to following him after school. It was an act that she wasn't very proud of, but she couldn't resist.

Just seeing him train was enough to lift her spirit and make her forget her own failures. He would train for hours on end, never stopping until he managed to do what he tried to do right just once.

And even with little natural talent, just like her, he would not bow to taunts or critic. He would just laugh in its face and try again. He just would not give in.

Oh, how she wished she could be like him…even just a little bit.

////////

When Hinata seated herself…

Hinata's response caught Naruto off guard. She'd seen him waving at her, he was sure of it, but she'd broken eye contact so suddenly that he now found himself very unsure.

He watched as she hurriedly made her way back to her own seat, looking intently at her own feet while she pressed her fingers together. It was as if she tried her utmost not to show interest in him.

That thought hurt more then he would have liked to admit, but he was also strangely glad she didn't wave back at him at the time. When he'd seen her enter the classroom, he'd found it strangely hard to think straight, and he'd just waved at her automatically.

He didn't know what he would have done if she'd waved back, but a growing hollow feeling in his gut desperately wanted to know why she'd been so intent on not looking at him.

With a dawning realization he came to a terrible conclusion. She didn't want anything to do with him. It made sense. They had never actually talked that much. And the times they had, she made sure that she didn't look directly at him. Maybe he disgusted her…like he did with so many grownups.

The notion that Hinata could actually hate him felt, unreal. The track his thoughts had taken brought a lump to his throat and the hollow feeling was replaced by a deep pit where his stomach should have been. '_Doe's she hate me like so many others do?'_ Just the thought of her hating him made him feel sick.

What should he do?

Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down. It didn't matter if she hated him now. Everyone hated him now (Not Iruka-sensei, Hokage-Ojisan, Teuchi-Ojisan or Ayame-Oneesan, but most others did), But he would change that.

He would do anything to try and get her attention, no matter how long it would take. One thing was for certain, he would not give up. He would never give up!

He couldn't just ask her out however, that hadn't worked with Sakura, so why would it work with Hinata? He quickly realized that he was making excuses not to ask her out. It wasn't that he didn't want to ask her out, he really did…it was just a sneaking fear of failure and 'what ifs'. What if she said no? What if she thought him a loser?

He needed to think, needed to understand and take things one step at a time. _Maybe I should try to get to know her first…and try to win her heart form there?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a classmate leaning over him. "What are you doing here Naruto? This is only for real shinobi," he informed Naruto with what he probably thought was an intimidating voice.

Sakaki was one of the less attentive students in class, but somehow he had managed to pass his exam just like all the others. Sakaki was also an opportunist in every sense of the words. He would try and act tough when he had something going, but usually, he was all talk and no bite.

Naruto leaned back and lifted the hitai-ite from around his neck so the 'tough guy wannabe' could see it clearly. "I am a real shinobi, see?" he grinned. He enjoyed the way Sakaki suddenly seemed less sure of himself. The boy's face went form surprised, to angry, to uncertainty.

Luckily that was all he was prepared to argue, and he just left without saying anything else. Naruto was happy about that. It wasn't often he had the benefit of winning a disagreement with others, and even less often was the times when it was they who left speechless. Usually it would be him that would argue wrong and make a fool out of himself, one way or another.

Caught up in his own small victory, he didn't even notice Sakura approach. "Get out of the way, Baka! I'm going to sit with Sasuke-kun!" she demanded, disrupting Naruto from his thoughts. In his surprise, he only looked confused at Sakura, and the only intelligent thing he thought to say was the word "Huh?"

Collecting his thoughts, he turned his head around to see why exactly Sakura wanted to sit next to him, when she clearly said that she wanted to sit next to Sasuke. The genius was there. Sitting with his hands folded in front of his mouth, looking directly at the blackboard, as if he was ignoring the entire world.

He didn't have time to say anything, or get clear so Sakura could pass, as the girl in question proceeded to climb over him, not even trying to be careful.

As he was being trampled he heard Sakura say "Good morning Sasuke-kun! Is this seat taken?" in an all too sweet voice that was completely at odds with her violent act.

She settled herself between Naruto and Sasuke, but the boy which held Sakura's interest didn't even bother to look at her. It bothered him that the Uchiha had been able to seat himself without him noticing, but he quickly realized that he was more irritated by his own slip then he was about Sasuke sitting there.

It was also strange to realize that he didn't feel more then mild affection towards the pink haired girl. He wasn't angry with her at all for the manhandling he'd just received, and neither was he jealous of the way she was ogling Sasuke. It would appear that he really was over his crush on her.

Actually, he could not even imagine asking her out anymore. The thought just felt…wrong, and it wasn't just because she was totally focused on the brooding genius. Sakura looked like she was about to start drooling from the way she stared at the rookie of the year. Only the occasional giggle made it clear that there still were some sort of mental function going on.

Personally, Naruto never liked Sasuke that much. He was arrogant, unfriendly and never helpful. What really edged Naruto about Sasuke however was that he didn't seem to even try when they learned something new. Everything they did seemed to come way too easily for the genius. It was something Naruto would never understand.

Strangely, he didn't feel much hostility towards the arrogant teme. The dream he'd had seemed so real, and that Sasuke was, if not overly friendly, still his friend. Sasuke noticed Naruto looking at him, "What do you want?" he asked glaring in Naruto's direction.

Before Naruto had time to think of an excuse however, Sakura pointed innocently at herself and asked in that sweet voice, designed to show innocent interest, "Me?"

She provided the perfect excuse for Naruto, and he wasted no time, silently mouthing the word 'That', before Sasuke had time to correct her. It was bad enough to be caught staring, and at a boy no less.

With a smile he leaned back in his seat, rather proud about what he had just done. Sakura and Sasuke were together in the dream, and they had seemed happy. Why not get them together in real life as well?

Sasuke, seeing that Naruto was not going to elaborate, just dismissed the whole thing, ignoring Sakura altogether.

The class calmed down when Iruka entered the classroom. Naruto was probably the only one to notice that their teacher was still not fully recovered; then again, he was probably the only one that knew about the injuries.

He could still see some bandages around Iruka's neck, and the sight made his stomach contract a little bit.

The chuunin was carrying just a piece of paper and not the usual pile he usually dragged with him to class. He walked to the desk and turned to face the centre of the classroom. He placed both hands behind his back before he started to talk, "From this day forward, you are no longer students at this academy," he began. "You are now full fledged shinobi."

He raised a hand to stall the building noise. When they were quiet again he continued, "But among shinobi, you are mere novices, genin. The lowest of the low," he paused a little to let the message sink in. "Your greatest challenges all lie ahead."

He stopped once more for theatrical effect. Probably a side effect of having the attention of the whole class for the first time in years. "The next step is the assignment of official duties to you all on behalf of the village."

He seemed to be loosing some of the less attentive students at this point, but noted to his surprise that Naruto was actually listening. As for the others that were not, the next bit would certainly change that. It always did.

"We will begin by dividing you into three-man cells," he stated louder then before. As he had guessed, several heads came up from their station on their desk when he said it.

"Each of which will be mentored by a Jônin, a more senior ninja who will guide and coach you as you become familiar with your assignments."

This was received with silence. The students looked like they were going through mental lists of who they wanted to be on teams with, and Iruka did not look forward to crushing their expectations.

He noted that Naruto glanced towards the back of the class. As if on cue, Hyuga Hinata's head dropped enough that Iruka was unable to see her face properly. Naruto then proceeded to slump over his desk, as if disappointed by the girl's reaction. Hinata had started to press her fingers together like she usually would when she was nervous.

That was something to remember the next time he would treat the boy ramen, but first he needed to crush some dreams. It wasn't a pleasant thing to do but it was better to just get it over with.

"I made the selection so that each cell's abilities would be approximately equal," was all he managed to say before the protests and outrage was sent flying.

Naruto was just as outraged as the rest of the class, mostly because there weren't that many he would like to be on the same team with. Sakura was a given, he liked her, as a friend; more surprising was that he would also want to be on the same team as Sasuke. They had been team-mates in the dream, hadn't they? And that looked like it was going well. Even so, mostly he would like to be on the same team as Hinata.

His mind wandered and he missed who was on the first teams. When Iruka started on the second he thought about whom else he would have no problem being placed on team with.

Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru would be fun. He had nothing against Shino, but he hadn't really understood him, not even in the dream. Dream-Ino was much like her real counterpart, noisy and bossy, but he thought she would be nice enough. It would be fun to have someone to argue with.

Even so, his thoughts kept drifting back to Hinata.

If he was placed on the same team as her, he would see her every day. He would have lots of chances to get to know her, and she would get used to him eventually. It would be perfect. Anyone else would be fine, as long as he ended on the same team as Hinata.

Even as he was thinking how great it would be if he ended on the same team as the once that had been in his dream, he was totally unprepared for what came next.

When he heard Iruka say the words, "Team seven" and "Haruno Sakura" his ears perked up. When he proceeded to say "Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto's jaw nearly hit the desk. _Could it be?_ To his left he noticed Sakura's shoulders drop in defeat, but he didn't care. "And Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka finished.

Naruto didn't believe it. He didn't even notice Sakura's victory punch right next to him. He was downright shocked to have a dream come true, literally.

He wasn't disappointed with his new team, but he still wished that he'd been put on a team with Hinata. Iruka continued to name Team eight, and a part of Naruto's brain that was still functioning complimented Kiba and Shino for being so lucky as to end up with Hinata. He was a little sad that he wasn't one of them, but at least she would be with friendly people. Well, they were friendly in the dream…

His own team however, was still his main focus and with some effort he turned his head towards Sasuke and Sakura. His expression was quickly noted by both of them, as it resembled very much that of a goldfish. Sasuke only glared back at him, "Just don't get in my way," he said threateningly.

That sentence was enough to snap Naruto out of the daze he was in. He didn't shout back, just turned his head away and pouted irritably. He was disappointed by Sasuke's response, not angry. It was the first time he actually didn't feel like shouting back at someone that talked down on him for a very long time. It just didn't appeal at the moment.

"Ok everyone. I'll be introducing your senior Jônin instructors this afternoon. Until then, you're dismissed!" Iruka finished. Naruto had missed who the other teams would be, but he noted that Chouji and Shikamaru, who were seated a couple of benches ahead of him seemed happy enough. Well, Chouji was anyway, so they probably ended on the same team

/////////

As recess came, Naruto didn't know what to do. Hinata seemed to be in a hurry to get out the door after her new team-mates. It made sense he supposed, but a lingering thought that she was trying to avoid him would not leave him.

Sakura was on her way out the door as well, along with the rest of Sasuke's fan club. The genius had already left when Iruka told them they were dismissed.

It was sad to see how the people he'd dreamt about acting so differently in real life, but that was probably just because he wanted too see what he had dreamt. After all, they weren't acting much different than any other day, except maybe different groups.

Everyone was gathering in their selected teams so they could eat together. He noted that Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji were walking together. Chouji and Ino had looked happy together in the dream, so he could not help but smile for them to be on the same team.

It would seem that everyone he recognised in the dream had ended up on teams with one another. It made him feel a little bit uneasy for some strange reason. Not the team selection, just the dream about it.

He wrote it of as educated guesses made in his sleep. After all, there were other people in the dream as well. People that he had never even heard about or seen, it was probably just his mind playing tricks on him.

Even so, he was a little jealous that the others were going to have lunch together with their own teams, while his team had no such plans. Too bad he was on a team where people didn't want anything to do with one another. _Well, the others didn't want anything to do with him._

Naruto furiously murdered that thought. He wasn't the sort of person too feel sorry for himself. Living alone for several years had taught him that self-pity did nothing but make things worse then they actually were.

If he was to be on the same team as the arrogant teme and his former crush, he might as well try to make the best of it. '_I am going to make friends with my new team, no matter the cost!'_ With that thought he got up to try and find his team.

When he got outside, he noticed that the mob of fan girls seemed to have scattered. Some was looking for something among the trees that was spread throughout the academy area. Others were running back and forth between the few buildings that also was school property. It didn't take a genius to guess 'what' they were looking for.

Naruto had to shake his head at their behaviour. _'Of course he's not hiding himself at the academy grounds,'_ he thought to himself. Sasuke used to eat by himself two buildings down the road.

He and Kiba had made a habit of tracking him down from time to time, just to give the location to his groupies whenever they felt like teaching him a lesson for showing off. Naruto had to admit that Kiba was much better at finding the genius then he was, but he wasn't _too_ bad himself.

He didn't see Sakura anywhere, until he made his way down the road towards Sasuke. He spotted his female team-mate sitting by herself on one of the stone benches lined along a path, leading towards the trade district. She looked a bit sad where she sat, eating alone, and Naruto had to think twice about who he was to talk to first.

After a short internal debate he settled on Sasuke. He now knew where Sakura was, so if Sasuke wasn't where he was supposed to be, then he knew where he would go next. He hurried towards his destination, just in case Sakura decided that she wanted to move before he got back.

He found the genius, exactly where he thought he would be. He was standing in front of an open window on the second floor of a storage building, so Naruto decided that he would try and surprise him. After all, who didn't like surprises?

He darted into the building and made his way up to the room behind Sasuke. Silently he crept inside and over to the window. Sasuke didn't seem to notice him at all. He was still eating his lunch, oblivious too Naruto.

With an effort of will, Naruto managed to not think of his own lunch that was still resting in one of his pockets. His stomach was the only part of his body that would openly sabotage him every time stealth was required.

He stood up slowly and leaned on the window frame, still unnoticed by Sasuke. The genius seemed too occupied with keeping a lookout for his fan club to even notice Naruto…or so he thought.

"What do you want?" Sasuke inquired in a rather irritated voice without turning around. It was clear that he wasn't happy about having his lunch interrupted and his tone made it clear that Naruto should be quick about it.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I thought that since we're suppose to be on the same team…you know…we should try to burry the hatchet, so to speak," he answered with the best smile he could muster.

Sasuke turned around to look at him for a second, and then he just turned back and made to leave. "As I told you before, just leave me alone and don't get in my way."

With those words, Sasuke jumped away, leaving Naruto alone once more.

Naruto had to fight his own impulse to shout after the arrogant bastard. How on earth could he ever think that he could ever be friends with that teme?

But even as he thought about it, he knew that he was more irritated on Sasuke then angry. Was this because of the dream? It felt like Sasuke was just trying to deal with something and wanted peace, and weird as it sounded, Naruto could sort of understand that.

Now that he'd tried with the first one, he took off in the direction of the other. Before jumping off the roof, he noticed Shikamaru and his team eating on a landing, on the building opposite from where he stood. They were two floors higher up, but they still saw him. He waved at them, but Chouji was the only one to wave back.

He knew Shikamaru well enough to know that he was way to lazy to do anything unnecessary, so he wasn't surprised that he didn't wave back. Then he headed over to the bench where he'd seen Sakura eat her lunch. However when he caught sight of her, she was talking with Sasuke as he passed by.

Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, Naruto lingered behind a corner for a while. Sasuke wasn't interested in talking to him, but if Sakura got him talking, that would be good for him, wouldn't it? After all, company was what helped Naruto get over the 'Mizuki' incident.

After a minute or two, he looked around the corner to see if they were still talking. To his disappointment, Sasuke had left, and Sakura was looking even more depressed then she had before. She rested her head on her arms and her lunch was just sitting there by her side, nearly untouched.

Just the sight of her made Naruto a bit nervous about talking to her. When Sakura looked like that, it was usually best to just let her be, in his experience. No, he needed to at least try.

As he jogged up to her he called out, "Hey Sakura-chan! Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Sakura raised her head to look at him with wide eyes, startled by his greeting. She seemed to bite back her first response before she answered him. "Yeah, sure. What'd you want to talk about?" The way she said it, made it sound somewhat forced. As if she really didn't want to talk to anyone, but were still going to try.

Naruto was unsure why she was so friendly towards him. Usually she would snap out some accusation or rude dismissal. "Eh, I thought since we are going to be on the same team, that we might as well be able to talk a little, if that's ok?" he responded, a little unsure of himself.

After a moment she just nodded, much to his surprise. "What did you want to talk about?" she asked as he seated himself on the opposite side of the bench.

Naruto took out his lunch before answering. He really hadn't thought of that. "Eh, I tried to talk to Sasuke earlier, but he wouldn't talk to me. Have you spoken to him?" Naruto began, knowing that they had.

He realized that it was the wrong approach, as Sakura's mood instantly darkened. It would seem that whatever they'd talked about was none of his business.

As the moment dragged on, Naruto found the silence more and more uncomfortable. As he unpacked his lunch, a sandwich and some orange-juice, he thought over what subjects he could try. "So, eh, what'd you think our Jônin sensei will be like?" he tried. It wasn't the most engaging subject, but Naruto wasn't used to talking to girls at all. Who knew what they would want to talk about?

Sakura took a deep breath and regained her focus on the here and now. "I don't know what kind of sensei we will have," she replied, seemingly not too keen on the subject.

After a while, she looked over at him with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry Naruto…I have a lot on my mind right now. I need some time to think, ok? Can we talk about this another time?" she asked silently. It was clear that she wanted to be alone, but still tried to be civil about it.

He was surprised that she was this polite, even when she really didn't want to be there, so he just smiled kindly and nodded an answer to her question. Whatever Sasuke and Sakura had talked about, it sure had made some changes. He halfway wondered if Sasuke also would have been changed after their conversation. "_Maybe Sasuke isn't that bad after all?"_ he thought to himself as he watched her leave.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by his stomach. It was roaring like an animal and Naruto now knew that some of the food he had eaten must have been bad.

There was a time and a place for thinking, and a time and a place for action, Naruto had to hurry to get too the latter.

////////

After recess, Hinata spent her time watching Naruto form her seat. He was acting differently today then he usually would. He hadn't tried to ask Sakura out on a date even once that she'd noted.

More noticeable however was that he had yet to work himself up over anything, not even when Sasuke told him to stay out of his way. She had succumbed to using her Byakugan and read their lips for a second and caught some of what had been said.

All he'd done was turn away and pout (the adorable childish pout). She had to turn her head down towards her desk when she thought about how cute Naruto could be. It was an automatic movement to hide her blush. When she looked down towards Naruto's seat, she was surprised to meet his eyes again.

She was stunned, dazed even. Only the familiar feeling of her blushing cheeks made her lower her eyes towards the desk once more. She pushed her fingers together in an effort to keep calm. It was a childish habit that helped her to keep focus when she was unsure of herself.

When she dared to look up again, Naruto had turned around, and seemed slumped over his desk. _Was he sad about something? Maybe Sakura-san turned him down?_

Iruka came in through the door, followed by nine other shinobi. If Hinata had guessed right, this would be their Jônin-sensei's.

"Be quiet children," Iruka started. "One of these people," he indicated the other nine shinobi with one hand," will be your new sensei in your time as genin."

He paused to make sure that they were paying attention to what he was saying. As there were no interruptions he continued, "Every team will be assigned to their own sensei that will from now on be responsible for your training. Listen to what they say and do not disrespect them. They are in effect both your team leader and your immediate superior."

He started listing up all the teams, starting with team one. Hinata's thoughts were only half-way listening, as she occupied herself by looking at the back of Naruto's head.

This was probably the last she would see of him for some time, and it was hard to not give away her sorrow at the thought. The only comfort was that they were in the same line of work, so, one day, maybe they would work together.

It was a small thing to hope for, she knew, but it was more or less realistic. That was, if she didn't mess it up too badly. Silently scolding herself for thinking like that, she decided that she wouldn't let that happen. She would work hard, just like Naruto would. She would not give up.

Iruka's voice brought her back to reality, when team six moved down towards their sensei.

"Now, team seven's sensei will be, Hatake Kakashi."

Silence followed Iruka's words. None of the other jônin's seemed too surprised or particularly worried about one of them being missing. "Well, I'm sure that he'll turn up sooner or later," Iruka added, probably because he wanted to get on with team assignment.

Hinata was a little out of it as well, but only for a second or two.

"Ok, team eight's sensei will be Yuuhi Kurenai."

A tall woman in some very strange clothing took a step forward. Hinata was struck by how confident she looked, and how strange her appearance was.

She was dressed in some strange white and black jacket that seemed to be made of a long, white fabric with a black line in the middle, about as wide as a paper napkin, loosely wrapped around her body to form a jacket. The only thing that resembled usual clothing was her sandals, her hitai-ite, and a red sleeve on her right arm, that somewhat pulled attention away from the confusing outfit. The other sleeve was bare. Her hair seemed almost wild and strands of if stood out here and there, making it look messy, but the way it moved when she did, said otherwise. Her eyes seemed to consist of two separate layers of red, making her overall appearance both stand out and disorienting.

Their eyes met, and suddenly Hinata remembered that she had seen this woman before. On her first day at the academy, she had been the special Jônin that had escorted her to the school grounds. She'd been dressed differently then, in a simple Jônin vest and dark pants. Hinata felt a little guilty for not recognising her right away.

As Hinata made her way down the side of the classroom, with her other two team-mates, Yuuhi Kurenai smiled at them. "Follow me please," was all she said when they reached her. Without any other words she led them out of the room. Hinata was the last one to leave and just as she went out the door and took a last look back, she met Naruto's eyes once more.

It made her legs go wobbly and she could feel the blush coming. Even so, she couldn't hide her shy smile properly as she turned away to catch up with her team-mates. She remembered her own promise. She would work hard and do her best. Just like Naruto would.

Back in the classroom, Naruto had noticed the smile and felt the butterfly effect in high gear. She may have looked away as she always did, but she smiled, and what a cute smile it was.

////////

Naruto was getting more and more agitated by how late their sensei was. It had been nearly a half-hour since Iruka left, and in effect, that would have been the end of detention, on a regular school day. Why was their sensei so late?

He was starting to get hungry again too, and there was no conversation in the other two. Well, Sakura-chan was trying to talk to Sasuke-teme, but she didn't seem to make much progress.

He'd tried once or twice to talk to them, but Sasuke had only told him to shut up, and Sakura had said that she was busy talking with Sasuke.

At long last he got out of his seat. He needed to move around.

He walked over to the blackboard, to see if there was something he could use, anything. He needed something to do.

"Stop it Naruto," he heard Sakura say. Both Sasuke and Sakura were looking at him in annoyance. He was fiddling, and it seemed to annoy them.

"Why are we the only cell whose teacher hasn't shown up yet?" he asked back at them. "All the other teams have already gone off with their teachers. Even Iruka-sensei has gone!"

He resumed his scavenger hunt with an irritated sigh. Sadly, all the chalk was taken by the teachers when class ended. It had been like that since Naruto had used them on all the seats in the classroom during his second year. That had been a good prank.

What the teachers did leave was the chalk eraser, _covered in chalk dust_. With that, inspiration struck. He moved a chair over too the door. It was the sliding type, all the indoor door's at the academy was.

He took the eraser and placed it between the door and the wall, making a nice trap, of the good old classic type.

"Hey! What are you up to Naruto," he heard Sakura say as he made the finishing touch to his booby trap.

He jumped down from the chair he had stood on before her replied, "It is his own fault for making us wait!" She had no doubt already seen what he was up to, so there was no need to explain.

Sakura huffed in annoyance, "Grow up! I want no part of it."

Sasuke, who had yet to rise from his seat, just looked at Naruto with a bored expression. "There's no way a superior shinobi would fall for such a simple trap," he commented.

Naruto scowled in annoyance and turned towards him. "Well I don't see you doing anything, genius." He added the last part with a little sarcasm. He was getting fed up with how Sasuke acted towards both him and Sakura.

Behind Naruto the door creaked open and the eraser hit the masked person that entered right on top of his head.

Naruto however didn't notice, and just continued talking. "I mean, you haven't done anything but brooding all day," he ranted on. His patience with the Uchiha genius had been tested, and he had not resorted to shouting at all. He needed an outlet.

The masked shinobi, whom had just entered, didn't say anything. He only raised an eyebrow in what could easily be a questioning look.

Sasuke and Sakura had gone quiet as well. Both because their new sensei had arrived, and they were a little disappointed, and because Naruto had not noticed.

"I mean, instead of just being negative, couldn't you try to contribute something? If my trap is that bad, why don't you show me how it is done?" Naruto turned around to point at the eraser, so he could continue his complaint.

His finger found the eraser, perched on top of chalk covered, masked head. He wasn't prepared to come face to face with an unnervingly familiar face…that he had never seen before, so his rant stopped dead in its tracks.

The shinobi scratched the back of his head, making chalk-dust fall from his hair, along with the eraser. "Well, this is a nice start. I think we'll get along, like oil and water," he said with a smile.

///////

Five humiliating minutes later, they had moved to the roof.

Kakashi settled himself on the railing, while the newly made genin seated themselves on a couple of steps, leading to a wind-protected area intended for the study of trees. Naruto was seated to the left of Sasuke, and Sakura had placed herself on the Uchiha's right.

Not one to beat around the bush, Kakashi began. "Now, I would like you all to tell a little about yourselves."

At first he was met with silence. Until Sakura asked the question, "Like what?"

"You know. The usual…your favourite things…what you hate most… Dreams, ambitions, hobbies. You know….things like that."

Again he was met with silence, until Naruto chipped in, "Help us out here sensei. You go first, show us how it's done."

Sakura gain some courage after Naruto started talking. After all, it is a widely known fact that no one wants to be first to talk about something with a teacher. "That's right…after all, you're a complete stranger to us…a mystery."

Sasuke stayed quiet.

"Oh…me?" Kakashi started with a perfectly blank face. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the sort of person that doesn't feel like talking about his likes or dislikes. My dreams for the future are…well…I have lots of hobbies…." His face didn't show any sign of it being a joke.

Sakura was the one to say it, "He said a lot…but all we learned was his name…" Naruto nodded in agreement. This teacher was something else from what they were used to. He looked bored, but not like the other teachers did. He just didn't seem that interested.

"Well, now it is your turn. Starting with the one on the right," Kakashi said, nodding towards Naruto.

Naruto straightened himself, and began talking, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is instant cup-ramen! What I like even better is when Iruka-sensei treats me to ramen at Ichiraku's ramen stand! What I hate is the three minutes it takes before the ramen is ready after pouring in the boiling water." He started fiddling with his hitai-ite while he talked.

Kakashi seemed to either get very bored or really tired as Naruto talked. Naruto didn't notice that, but he did pause for a second or two and continued with more determination. "My dream is to one day become a better shinobi then the Hokage! Then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence!"

Kakashi's eye opened a bit more, but that's all the reaction the masked man seemed willing to give.

"My hobbies are pranks and practical jokes," Naruto finished.

Kakashi scratched his head where the eraser had hit him, "I see…next."

Sasuke didn't move, but started talking. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I dislike, but I don't see that it matters, considering there is almost nothing I like. It seems pointless to talk about dreams, that is just a word…but what I do have is an ambition. I plan to restore my clan. And there is someone…I have sworn to kill."

By the end, the atmosphere had gone cold. No one said a word, but even Kakashi had adopted a serious expression. Considering he was wearing a mask and his hitai-ite covered his left eye that said something.

Naruto didn't know why, but Sasuke's words sent chills down his spine. The words was scary, true, but it was something deeper then that. He couldn't explain it; he just instinctively knew that it would lead to something terrible.

Sakura's eyes however, were filled with admiration. As if Sasuke's 'cool' factor had just been raised to a new level.

The mood was lifted when Kakashi, at long last broke the silence, "And finally…the young lady," signalling for Sakura to begin.

Sakura blushed slightly and glanced over at Sasuke before she started. "I am Haruno Sakura. My favourite thing is…well it's not a thing, it's a person. A boy…and that boy is…hum…" she looked over at Sasuke and blushed.

"Lets move on to my dream," in stead of telling them her dream, Sakura blushed and squealed in delight. Naruto couldn't help but wonder if Sakura might have a perverted side to her as well, from the way she was acting. The next thing Sakura said broke Naruto's line of thought completely.

"I hate…Naruto!"

Naruto's jaw dropped. He thought she was nicer now. What she and Sasuke had talked about earlier seemed to have worn off, and now she was back to her old self. He could only hope that they would talk again soon. He liked friendly Sakura much better.

After a while, Kakashi told them that it was enough.

"I believe we all understand one another. Formal training begins tomorrow."

Naruto perked up. This was what he had been waiting for. With a salute he asked the question on every ones mind, a bit louder then the other two would have of course. "Yes sir! What will our duties be?!" Inside, he was even more ecstatic. This would be his first real mission.

Neither Kakashi's voice nor expression changed. "Our first project will only involve member of this cell." He started.

After a small pause he looked at them and said, "Survival exercise."

He was met with uncomfortable silence once more. Again it was Naruto who broke it, "Survival exercise…?"

Sakura, once more being the one to ask the real question noted, "…But why would that be a mission? Our school days were full of survival training!"

"But you'll have to survive…against me. It won't be your typical practice," Kakashi replied.

Naruto didn't say anything, but he suddenly got a weird feeling in his gut. There was something that Kakashi had yet to tell them.

"What kind of practice will it be?" Sakura inquired after a short pause.

Kakashi stayed silent for a couple of seconds before he asked, "You sure you want to know?"

He was answered with nods from two of the Genin. Sasuke had yet to contribute anything.

"Of the twenty-seven members of your graduating class, only nine will actually be accepted as junior-level shinobi. The other eighteen must go back for more training," Kakashi informed them. He placed his head in his palm, with his fingers shading his visible eye. The effect was surprisingly intimidating.

"The test we're about to perform has a sixty-six percent rate of failure."

No one said anything after that. There was suddenly a weight in the air that hadn't been there a minute ago. Even Sasuke looked nervous about the prospects of failing.

After the shocked silence, Naruto was the first to attack the new information. "What about our graduation test?!" he shouted. "Was all that work for nothing?!"

Even as the words left his mouth, he knew that they weren't really true. A small portion of his mind was arguing vividly, that no amounts of work could be a waste of time, and the lessons learned would always be worth the trouble, but at the moment he was too worked up to really listen to it.

Kakashi, oblivious to Naruto's internal debate continued on as he would, "Oh! We wanted to eliminate all the hopeless cases from your ranks. The ones who are left are the only students who show true potential."

Naruto didn't reply, but several thoughts were fighting him as Kakashi continued to tell them what the exercise would involve.

Naruto was thinking of Hinata. Would she fail? Somehow he doubted it. She would probably beat any test that was sent her way with ease. He just knew that he needed to make genin if he were to see her again, let alone, look her in the eyes.

He was so occupied with his own thoughts that he only caught the end, when Kakashi told them not to eat any breakfast, because they would only throw it up again. _'Not eating breakfast?'_ That sounded horrible.

Kakashi move towards them and took out tree pieces of paper. "The details of your assignment are in this handout. Memorize it…and don't be late!"

Naruto took the paper and tried to read it. To his horror, it was all written in kanji, something he always had trouble reading before. But that was just it. He'd had trouble reading it _before_, now he managed to read it easily. He understood every symbol, every sentence at first glance. When he looked up, their teacher was gone.

"Eh… where did he go?" he asked the other two.

Sasuke didn't answer; he only grunted and walked away. He had curled the paper into a paper ball, having already memorized it. Sakura followed close behind him. "Maybe we could train a little Sasuke-kun?" she suggested timidly, getting ignored just like before.

"Hey! Hey, wait up!" Naruto shouted as he made to follow.

Sakura whirled on him, anger burning in her eyes. "Go away Naruto! Sasuke-kun and I want to be left alone!"

When she was done shouting, Sasuke had disappeared.

She seemed genuinely confused at first, and then all her attention was back on Naruto with a vengeance. "This is all you're fault!"

He was actually really scared of her when she got like this. Stars would usually follow close after, as Sakura packed on hell of a punch.

Surprisingly, no stars appeared. Sakura just took a deep breath, and left without saying anything, leaving Naruto to get his heartbeat back on track.

Sakura had been really weird today. First she'd nearly pummelled him when she wanted to sit near Sasuke. And then she had been nice and polite when he talked to her during recess, after her talk with Sasuke. And then she was back to hating him.

_Was all girls like that?_ He was actually getting even more worried about asking Hinata out. What if she was the same? He didn't believe that Hinata would punch as hard as Sakura did, but for some reason, he didn't think she needed to. The whole Hinata situation somehow just got more complicated then it already was.

Even so, he wouldn't give up…just take it a bit slower.

/////////

It was evening when Naruto finally got to Ichiraku's for supper.

"Hello Naruto-kun, how'd it go?" Teuchi asked when his favourite customer seated himself.

"Hello Ojisan, I don't think it went that well," Naruto answered. "Can I have some miso ramen please?"

Ayame came in through the backdoor of the stand, carrying several newly cleaned kitchen ornaments. "Oh, Hello Naruto-kun, how'd it go last night? Did you learn anything good?" she asked.

Teuchi chipped in before Naruto could answer, "Don't worry about it Naruto. I'm sure that you did your best, no matter what that shinobi said"

Ayame only took a second or two before she caught on to what her father meant, "As long as you did your best, that is good enough," she said reassuringly.

Naruto got a bit confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked as Teuchi went to work on the ramen.

"The jutsu, that Ebisu fellow was supposed to teach you, yesterday. Didn't you promise to tell us all about it?" the ramen chef replied, not even put off track by the misunderstanding. "What was it you were talking about?"

Ayame seemed to catch on to her fathers meaning faster then Naruto would ever have done, as she too seemed to keep with the subject, even if she missed the start of the conversation. "That you did Naruto, now, how'd it go?"

Naruto took a moment to realize that they had changed subject before he started to tell them about what he had learned. It was nice to have someone to talk to when you lived alone, and Teuchi and Ayame had always time to listen. He told them about how Ebisu had defied gravity, and just walked up the tree, as if it were nothing. He considered lying about his own attempt, but decided against it. If there were someone that deserved the truth, it surely was these two.

"It was so hard. I mean, I fell like a thousand times trying to do it, but I haven't got it yet," he finished. A thousand times was a little exaggerated, he knew, but it was the feeling that counted. "I only managed to do sixteen steps before I fell down today."

Teuchi placed the order in front of Naruto. Smiling kindly he said, "Don't worry about it Naruto, you'll get it in the end."

"Thanks Ojisan, Itadakimasu!"

"By the way Naruto, what'd you mean when you said that it didn't go so well?" Teuchi inquired as Naruto ate.

Naruto looked up and was about to answer when Ayame chipped inn, "Don't talk with your mouth full."

Naruto obeyed automatically, and swallowed the noodles before talking. "Thanks Oneesan," he smiled at her, before answering Teuchi. "I was talking about the team assignment today."

"What happened today Naruto?" the ramen chef asked, leaning over on the counter.

"I'm not sure. We just didn't get along I guess," replied Naruto after gulping down another mouthful. "I was placed on a team with Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan."

Teuchi raised a questioning eyebrow. "I thought you liked that Sakura girl?"

"Yeah, eh, I did. I mean, I do, but not like that…anymore. I like…eh…I mean…" Naruto tried to explain. Ayame who had let her father talk decided that Naruto needed to be rescued from what she liked to call, the inquisitive parent.

"Leave him alone Otousan, no need to try and embarrass Naruto while he eats," she said as she placed a glass of water in front of Naruto. "Let him tell us how it was without interruption."

Teuchi just smiled and nodded.

Ayame still remembered how it was like the first time she a crush on someone. Her father wouldn't shout, not tell her not to be with him, and just ask calm questions. It was rather effective really. She had been too ashamed to even look at the boy for nearly a week afterwards, for no reason at all.

After a few seconds, and another mouthful of ramen, Naruto proceeded to tell the ramen making duo about his team-mates, how they were and how they acted. He told them about his new teacher and how he had introduced himself; all the while they just listened. That was, until he told them about the survival exercise that they were going to go through the next day. Specifically, the advice Kakashi had given them to not eat breakfast.

"He told you what?" Teuchi asked with a little trace of outrage detectable in his voice. He waved his hand in the air, gesturing that Naruto didn't need to repeat what he'd just said. "Breakfast is the keystone for a good day Naruto. It gives you the energy you need to get started."

Ayame nodded her agreement. "You know what? If what you said is exactly what he said, then he didn't really order you not to eat, he just told you that it is a bad idea. Now listen to us Naruto, we may not be ninja, but we are chefs. That means that we know about food. And trust me when I say, if what you'll be doing is hard enough to make you throw up, then you will need something to start the day with."

She moved to the back of the stand and reached for something in a paper bag on the floor. She came back with three oranges and placed them on the counter in front of Naruto, who in turn, only regarded them with suspicion.

"These are good for keeping you energy up Naruto, without leaving much to throw up again. Now, you will eat one or two of these, tomorrow morning," she ordered him. It wasn't a stern voice, just firm. Even so, the familiar tone was enough to stop any arguments on Naruto's part. "Don't worry Naruto, they taste great and they're not vegetables. They're fruit."

Teuchi, who had been looking at his daughter's little outburst of care for Naruto was smiling. He'd always been proud of his daughter, and this little scene showed one of the many reasons why. He decided that he needed to go by her example as well.

"Now supper on the other hand," drawing both teen and preteen's attention. "Eat a lot before you go to bed. You'll digest better when you sleep. If you don't use too much energy before you go to bed tonight, you should feel less hungry when you wake up."

Naruto was looking wide eyed at Teuchi and his daughter. They'd just told him to not take his new sensei's advice, and practically ordered him to eat before the test. If he hadn't trusted them completely, he would have thought that they were giving him bad advice. But as things would have it, he did trust them.

He had nothing against eating a large supper, that part sounded rather pleasant. The oranges on the other hand…he was less sure about. Even so, Ayame had told him to eat some of them before the test, and he would. If they left little to throw up again, then that teacher wouldn't have anything to scold him for.

"Oh, and Naruto…" Ayame chipped in. "Don't stay up and practice tonight."

Naruto was amazed. "How'd you know I planned to train!?"

Ayame just shook her head lightly. "You always stay up and train before something big, silly. You always have."

Naruto didn't know what to say. He never really realized how much the ramen making pair knew. It made him happy. He could still remember the dream about the white haired man, but even if he told him that secrecy was a ninja's greatest weapon, it still felt really good to have someone knowing him.

"Thank you," he said in a weak but happy voice. He was getting a little overwhelmed by his own emotions.

Ayame glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow, then with a smile she said "Don't worry about the oranges Naruto…you can pay me back with a small favour."

Naruto was a little taken aback at first, but then he realized that she was just trying to get his mind on a less sensitive subject. She peeked over her shoulder at her father, who was occupying himself, cutting vegetables.

Then she leaned down towards Naruto, and whispered, "I believe that you were about to say who you like, now that it is no longer Sakura. Who is she?"

What she asked made him choke on the broth. Ayame just smiled at him, much like her father had done before. The way she looked at him made him feel like she already knew, and just waited for him to admit it. But she couldn't know. He hadn't told anyone. Naruto could feel himself starting to panic.

Not knowing another way to escape, Naruto hurriedly said his "Gochisousama!" as fast as he politely could, and took off. He wasn't sure, but he thought he could hear feminine laughter as he ran away.

As for why he was running, he told himself that it was to get ready for the next day, but truthfully, he just couldn't tell anyone yet. He wasn't ashamed of it, Kami forbid. He just didn't want to jinx it.

As for leaving…he needed to go anyway. After all, he had a big day coming up. "_The paper said six…or was it seven tomorrow morning….I should have memorized it,"_ he though as he made his way home. He needed to eat some more, and go to bed early. The oranges he got from Ayame were breakfast, no matter what that Kakashi said.

And even if he get in trouble for it, he still believed Ayame-Oneesan and Teuchi-Ojisan over some Jônin that couldn't even dodge an eraser, any day.

**End of chapter 2.**

Please leave a review.

Updated: 10/05/09

Authors Note:

Sakura was depressed and not really dismissive because she just had the 'orphan talk' with Sasuke. She badmouthed Naruto and was dismissed as more annoying then he was. That is also why she agreed to talk a little with Naruto as well. The difference is who she met first.

Yes, I support InoChouji. I think it's a lovely pair. I won't be heartbroken if it doesn't happen (I really doubt that it will), but ever since she told him that he should try to keep himself thinner(anime), I've seen them as future husband and wife.

I am sure that Kurenai's outfit is styled to confuse and disorient. The mesh of confusing patterns against the eye-catching colour of her right sleeve…she is after all a genjutsu mistress.

The names Sakaki, and Uchiyamada are both taken from GTO (Great teacher Onizuka), and any other Japanese names that you will not recognise from Naruto in future chapters of this story will all be taken form other manga, since my Japanese is nonexistent.

In the dream, I realize now that Sakura's method silencing Sasuke, may reflect badly on her. Please don't hold it against her. Lets just say that she wanted to get there sooner than they did, and part of that was Sasuke's fault, who had forgotten what day it was. He'd met, in full ANBU gear, in the Hokage's office. Due to old habits, he entered via the window, so the secretary didn't know to inform him where Naruto would be. So he just waited there. Needless to say, Sakura had good reason to be mad at him.

The 'Uzumaki swirl'. I don't know if this is the mark of a clan, or something Naruto picked up in some store, so to mark his surname in some way. Both are possible, so go with the one you like the most.

I used the 'butterfly sensation' a bit much in this story, but isn't that what characterize a childhood crush? I keep mentioning it because it play's such a big role in innocent uncertainty (Not like now, when I get a belly ache whenever I have to do something I'm uncertain about).

Yes, Hinata follow Naruto around. I've probably written this before somewhere (or in later chapters that I've forgotten about), but a twelve year old who follows another twelve year old is not stalking. I wouldn't even judge her if she still did it in the second half (which there is no evidence that she does) as they're just sixteen. That might sound stupid to many people, but the Naruto series takes place in an alternative universe, and not to mention, is based on a different time period. Kishimoto has himself said that the technology in the series is based on the sixties or seventies (a time when the young were socially allowed to be young, and not small adults), so people shouldn't expect to recognise themselves in these situations. It's a very different society, and our norms and values differ as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: This story is written without permission, for fan purposes only. Naruto and the Naruto world, belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Afterthoughts.**

**Chapter 3.**

**Anger management****…and phobia. **

**Early morning****...**

It was early…too early in Naruto's opinion.

His head was still fuzzy when he arrived at the training ground, where they'd been instructed to meet up with their new sensei.

He wanted to curse that particular sensei right now, as the note didn't specify exactly when they were to meet, so it forced him to get up bright and early (even if it was still dark) to avoid the risk of running late. He could only hope that he was on time.

The night had passed without any dreams that he could remember, and for that he was rather thankful. It had been a relief with a good night's sleep, and a much needed too, considering he had to get out of bed when the alarm rang.

He'd tried to go to bed early, but had been kept up when he made the final preparation on his t-shirt. He had picked up a thicker thread on his way home, and had proceeded to stab himself to death with the needle as he worked.

In the end, he'd managed to fasten the patch in place. You could hardly even see the stitches on the outside, and luckily, due to the dark colour of the fabric, few of the bloodstains were visible.

When he stumbled into the clearing, in the middle of the training ground, he noticed that his team-mates were already there. Both of them looked about ready to drop.

Sasuke seemed to have trouble keeping his eyes open, something that made his expression look even dumber than Shikamaru's on a test day. A little voice inside Naruto's head scolded him for not bringing a camera for this occasion. He would have loved to immortalise the image, showing that even the great 'Uchiha', could be brought down a notch by such an ungodly early morning.

Sakura was just as out of her element as Sasuke, maybe even more so. She wasn't seated more than a couple of feet from her crush, but there was no hint of her even registering the fact. She just sat there, making half an attempt to keep her eyes open and her mouth closed, whilst her head bobbed up and down, as she fought the sleep that threatened to take her.

It was a bit scary to see them act so differently then normal, but then again, he was probably no different.

He tried and failed to greet them, as the only sound he managed to make was the incomprehensive noise he made during a yawn. Sakura responded with a tired nod, as she probably wanted to avoid the contagious effect of his yawning.

Sasuke didn't react at all. If Naruto hadn't known better, he would have thought that the genius didn't even register his presence.

Naruto wasted little time standing upright; he was too tired for that. He just walked over and seated himself on the other side of Sakura and tried to stay awake a little while longer. After all, Kakashi would show up soon, he probably should be awake when he did.

Taking a closer look at his team-mates, he noticed how uncomfortable they both seemed to be. Sakura's stomach was complaining loudly about the advice to skip breakfast, but she seemed too tired to actually be embarrassed over it.

Sasuke's stomach mirrored Sakura's reaction as angry growls came from him as well. Naruto on the other hand, hadn't done as Kakashi had told them, and was somewhat better of because of it.

Ayame's oranges had done wonders, just like the late night supper that Teuchi had advised him to eat. He wasn't exactly stuffed, but he wasn't that hungry either and that's what counted.

After waiting for what seemed like forever, but probably was little more than ten minutes, Naruto seriously started to question why they'd even bothered to get out off bed. He was just getting sleepier as the time passed, and not being particularly hungry made his brain think that it was just as well not to waste time being conscious.

The other two didn't have the same problem. They were tired, sure, but it isn't easy to sleep on an empty stomach. When they registered snoring coming from Naruto, they could only watch on in envy.

/

"_We really need to work on tha__t temper of yours," Jiraiya scolded Naruto as they stepped off one of the many ferries that transported travellers between O'uzu Island and Tea country. _

_It h__ad been a long and slow journey, and Naruto had gotten himself into several arguments on the way. "He had it coming," Naruto grunted in response, not the least bit embarrassed over what he'd done. "It was his own fault, he pushed me first."  
_

_Jiraiya sighed. It was true that the one Naruto talk__ed about did in fact push him, and it was no accident. If he was to be perfectly frank, he'd been downright rude, but that was no reason to throw the man overboard. _

_Fortunately there__'d been another boat coming in the opposite direction, and the very surprised and very drenched person was lucky enough to get a ride back to O'uzu Island with it._

"_Even so__, we're supposed to be keeping a low profile," Jiraiya reminded him. They'd discussed his temper before…on several occasions, but that was a lesson that had yet to sink in. _

"_Did you at least try to count to ten, like I told you to?"_

_Naruto had the go__od grace to look embarrassed as he shook his head. _

_The port where they had landed was__n't much to talk about. There were probably no more then five buildings in the area, and all of them had seen better days. _

_The only building of note was a dirty looking tavern that even he would think twice about entering. Not just because the hostess, who had the good grace to stand outside to greet any potential guests was something out of his worst nightmare, but also because she was eying him hungrily._

_He was the pervert of perverts, and as such, he was attuned to the perversity of others. What his instinct (and sadly experience) told him about that kind of __'hostesses'__ were that they were much more accurately described as __'hosts'__. _

_So, like a man who knew __a thing or two about possible dangers related to women sporting a 5'o clock shadow, he proceeded to pull Naruto along the road leading away from the tavern and into the safety of the forest. _

_It was night time, but anything was safer than in that tavern._

_When they were a suffi__cient distance away from the buildings Naruto spoke, "…It's just that…I don't know…I just get angry so fast…" _

_Jiraiya was glad for Naruto's lack of protests on the matter with the tavern. Some lessons seemed to be absorbed faster than others. _

_He placed a__ hand on the boy's shoulder, "I know, that's why we're working on it," he reassured him. _

_After a short pause he added, "besides, it was funny to see that bastard realize he was pushing a shinobi…I don't think I have ev__er seen anyone go from being the bully to becoming the victim that fast…and I have been a ninja longer then most." _

_Naruto could__n't help but smile at the memory. It had been rather funny. He turned his head and looked up at his teacher, "Yeah…you are very old…"_

_Jiraiya gave Naruto a fake __expression of shock. "What? Me? Old?" he asked in an over dramatized voice. "I'm shocked! I'll tell you now, I am in my prime. Young people today have no respect for their elders!" _

_It was hard to keep from laughing, and Naruto failed utterly. __The two of them laughed until they lost sight of the building among the trees. When they calmed down a little, Jiraiya tried again. _

"_You remember__ why it's important not to get agitated when you're fighting, right?" he asked in a light tone. _

_The__ fourteen year old boy nodded, but kept his eyes on the ground._

_Jiraiya sighed, "Well, I'm going to tell you anyway…who knows, maybe it'll stick this time."_

_He heard Naruto__ snort in response to the bad joke, but that only meant that he was listening._

"_When you get angry, you stop thinking straight. __You're not alone in doing that…but it is still bad. Think about what would have happened if people acted purely on what their emotions told them…"_

_Naruto looked at him with a raised eyebr__ow, he didn't understand. Jiraiya didn't blame him for it._

"_Take a hidden village as an example. If the __majority of the village was to decide what it should do, then anger would probably be the most decisive factor," Jiraiya began. _

_He knew it was probably__ too late for this sort of lecture, but maybe he'd get lucky, and it would make sense to the boy. _

"_People love different things than other people; their own family, their own friends and so on. Sadly, people often hate the same things, which is often something that has wronged them before. Most Konoha shinobi doesn't like Iwa-nin, due to the last war…the same goes for Iwagakure towards Konoha. That would leave us constantly at war."_

_Jiraiya risked a glance down towards the boy. To his surprise, he was actually paying attention. __"Now, let us take an example from something closer to us. Let's say diplomats. If diplomats were to say exactly what they felt or meant, they wouldn't get anywhere. That would mean politics would go out the window like an old rag."  
_

_Another glance at Naruto showed that he was loosing interest. Jiraiya silently cursed himself for going with the diplomats. He needed to change tactics._

"_Okay, another example. I think you would want to hear this one. It is about traders…more__ specifically, ramen merchants."_

_Now the boy was all ears. The words 'ramen' was like a large billboard, with flashing colours to get Naruto's attention. "Merchants need to think about profit and loss more then anyone. They know they need to spend money to make money. You remember that weasel from Wave?" _

_Naruto thought it over and nodded. To Jiraiya, it was clear that Naruto was getting tired. _

_Jiraiya had__n't met the man, Gato, but Kakashi's report gave a good description. Much better than the copy-nin's personality would indicate._

"_He wasn't a proper trader. Every merchant was probably seething with anger after meeting him…they just couldn't do anything about it. They were probably out of options when they dealt with him. In any other situation they would have tried to find a better deal..."_

_Jiraiya could hear from his own example that he too was getting tired.__ He was messing up his own arguments. He needed to wrap it up, and try to present the point better._

"_What__ it comes down to is this…in stead of getting angry, try to find another way out…another deal so to speak," he tried._

_Naruto's eyes were all questions, and his expression could indicate that Jiraiya had__ grown a second head. "…another deal?" _

_The Gama-Sennin rubbed the bridge of his nose before answering__. "I mean…another way to deal with the anger. You know…shrug it off, answer back…best to do that childishly in your case." _

_It was one of the rare occasions when Naruto was to__o tired to argue, so he accepted it. _

"_Answer back?" _

"_Yes, I know you__'re not good at that, but even the weakest retaliation, delivered with confidence, can be enough to put your opponent off."_

_That made sense__ Naruto supposed. Not the weak retaliation part…but confidence. Confidence was the answer to everything. Naruto had a lot of confidence._

"_I promise that you'll do much better if you keep your temper under control," Jiraiya finished. It was late, so it was little use prolonging the lecture more then necessary. _

"_Let's just find a place to sleep__…we'll talk more about it in the morning."_

_After a lengthy pause, where they didn't talk, Jiraiya added, "Just one more thing Naruto. I think you should wake up…" _

"_Wha__t? What do you mean wake up?" Naruto asked confused. Wasn't it time to go to sleep?_

_Jiraiya shook his head__, "I said…"_

/

"…GET UP! BAKA!" was the words that greeted Naruto when he joined the land of the living.

Sakura had added a kick when she woke him but that was not unusual. Sakura may be cute, but she was also violent, and his endeavour to get a date with her had left him painfully aware of the fact.

Kakashi was approaching them with some type of alarm-clock when Naruto seated himself upright. The sun was halfway up on the sky, and the dim light he'd arrived in was nowhere to be seen.

Sakura was angry for some reason that was unknown to him. At least it was unknown until she shouted, "YOU'RE LATE!" at their approaching teacher.

"Sorry, sorry," Kakashi began. "I'm late because my alarm clock broke, so I had to buy a new one," he answered with what could easily have been a smile on his face. It was hard to tell with the mask.

'_He__'s late?'_ Naruto thought to himself as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

He was brutally introduced to total consciousness when he heard Sakura shout an angrily at the Jônin, "LIAR!"

To Naruto, it was like nails on a blackboard.

Kakashi's voice held no trace of anger or irritation when he replied. "Nope…and here it is." He held up the clock so they could see. He then turned sharply on his heals and started to walk away. "Follow me please…" he ordered them over his shoulder.

He led the three of them into a clearing, where three training-posts were imbedded into the ground. There were one or two at the academy, and they had been used to build up striking force in taijutsu.

It was essentially just a tree stump, but they worked just fine for training target and punching bags, as they hardly ever hit back.

A short distance away stood a square shaped rock, which seemed to have writing on it. The ground around it was paved, and there was a flagpole a few feet away. It looked important.

Kakashi walked over to the poles and placed the clock on top of the one in the centre.

"I've set this alarm to go off at noon," he informed them whilst activating the alarm. Naruto noted that the clock was actually ten past eleven. He'd been asleep for nearly five hours. "Is the time right?" he interrupted before Kakashi could continue.

Kakashi made a show of bending down to look at the clock before answering. "Yes, yes it is," he said with a friendly smile.

"We got here over five hours ago!" Naruto nearly shouted back at him.

Kakashi didn't even flinch. He just raised his eyebrow and asked, "And…?"

"You're late!" Naruto resorted.

Silence followed. Sasuke and Sakura looked at him as if he was stupid, as did Kakashi. In the end, Sakura just hit him on the head, "Baka."

After a few seconds without answering, Kakashi took out two bells and held them out for them to see. "I have here two bells…" he started. "Your challenge is to steal these from me before the timer sounds."

It was strange to note that Kakashi seemed to become even happier when he said, "Anyone who fails to get a bell…doesn't get any lunch. Instead, you'll be tied to that tree stump, so I can eat your lunch in front of you."

The statement was followed by a series of growling stomachs, as if they'd been waiting for a cue. "All you need is just one bell apiece. But since there aren't enough to go around, one of you is definitively headed for the stump." Kakashi made the bells jingle to make the point.

What was said next however, instantly raised the tension. "…And whoever fails this test will no longer hold the rank of genin. One of you is on your way back to school…and disgrace." He said the last part with a glare. The effect was very intimidating.

Naruto was sure that, if he had moved, either Sakura or Sasuke would jump. For that matter, had any of them moved, he would probably jump as well. He could almost feel the pressure in the air.

Kakashi snatched the bells into his fist, and his expression changed instantly back to the bored look with his eye only halfway open. "You may, if you choose, use shuriken. Attack as though you mean to kill or you'll never stand a chance."

Sakura was the first to comment. "But…but that's so dangerous!" she said, worry clearly written on her face.

Naruto agreed, to use shuriken was never allowed in the academy, for everyone's safety. "You couldn't even dodge an eraser!" he proclaimed nervously. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

Kakashi just sighed, and looked even less interested than before. "It's always the weakest that shout the loudest," then he turned to the other two, "Now let's ignore the loud one, and you'll start on my signal."

The familiar twig of anger shot through Naruto. He hated being underestimated. People always underestimated him.

He wanted to draw a kunai, just to show how dangerous he could really be. His fingers itched…but something just wasn't right. Instantly he remembered the dream. It had been one of those…with the old pervert.

He realized that he'd gotten angry really fast, and it had only been one comment. This was one of the first times Naruto had ever thought about how easily he would get angry…it was a scary realization to see how little it actually took.

With a sudden insight, he realized that it was because he was a shinobi.

He would never get angry like that before. He was less willing to take any crap now that he had a title, than when he didn't. It made him embarrassed when he thought about it.

He actually thought people would instantly respect him, just for being a genin.

He remembered what the white haired figment of his imagination had said. He should answer back. It took him less then a second to come up with a response. The time used reflected itself in the quality of the answer.

"No, it isn't!"

Kakashi stopped himself from giving the signal to start, and just stared at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"Isn't what?"

"It's not just the weak that are loud," Naruto answered with confidence. It was probably the most childish way to deal with it, but at least he wasn't angry anymore.

"Yes they are…" Kakashi responded after a few seconds.

"No, they're not," Naruto answered back.

"Yes, they are," Kakashi replied just as calmly as before, but Naruto could have sworn he heard a little suppressed laughter in his voice.

Kakashi then made a show of looking at the clock. "You still only have until noon, no matter when we start," he pointed out.

"But you're still wrong," Naruto continued, oblivious to Sasuke and Sakura's growing irritation.

"Shut up Naruto, he said we only have until noon," Sakura scolded as she again hit him on the head again.

Kakashi just smiled at the display and said, "Go!"

/

When Kakashi gave the signal, Naruto darted out of the clearing as fast as he could. He grabbed onto a tree as he shot past, so he swung to a sudden halt behind it, effectively hiding himself from view.

He needed a bell. He couldn't fail now, not after passing the genin exams for the first time. What he really needed though, was a plan. He could see that Kakashi hadn't moved at all. He was just standing there…looking bored.

It was actually rather infuriating that he acted in such a way, but Naruto fought the frustration back. The perverted figment of his imagination had helped him before, so it was probably best to heed what it had said.

Naruto had actually worked it out the night before. The dreams about the old man, it was his own genius talking to him. After all, he'd never seen anyone like that in his life.

The imaginary figure was smart and gave good advice, pointed out things he needed to work on and so forth...in short, Naruto was a genius.

The only strange thing about it was that the genius was the same part that was perverted…and old. Even so, the thought of him being an actual genius brought on a boost of confidence and with it, a half formed plan. For it to work however, he needed to move fast.

Without a second thought, he formed the ram-seal and made four shadow clones. It wasn't as many as he could have made, but it was enough for what he had in mind. They all roughly knew the plan, so they wasted no time standing around.

All the clones and Naruto darted off to fulfil their part of the plan, and hopefully, the 'dead-last' position would work to his advantage.

/

Kakashi had just given the signal for the test to start, and was pleased to see that all of his potential students did what they'd been trained to do.

Even so, this was just the beginning, and his test wasn't about what they were trained to do, it was about what they hadn't trained to do (Kakashi didn't believe in the grading system).

Just as he was about to take out his beloved book, the loud one of his genin came back out into the clearing. He was making enough noise to wake the dead, not a shinobi approach at all.

"It is common for shinobi to conceal their presence you know," he informed the boy in a deliberately bored voice.

"I don't need to hide from someone like you!" Naruto proclaimed loudly. "I'll kick your ass and show you what an awesome ninja I am!"

Kakashi didn't know if he should be laughing at Naruto's words, or cry at the apparent lack of any useful training. Suddenly feeling a bit empty, he decided to see just how bad it really was, starting with his temper.

"Ok, come at me then, I will teach you about the first of the shinobi arts. Taijutsu," he said flatly, as he moved his hand to his equipment pouch, enjoying the sight of Naruto tensing.

When he revealed the little orange book, Naruto's expression turned into pure disbelief. Fighting himself not to laugh, Kakashi proceeded to taunt the boy a bit more.

He made a show of opening the book and started to read. After a few seconds he looked up, "…? Is something wrong? I thought you were going to attack me."

"...but…you…I mean, I…I mean…why are you…that's a book!" Naruto stuttered, clearly not sure what he should do.

"Of course it's a book. I've been dying to find out how it ends," Kakashi replied whilst turning some pages, making it seem as if he was reading. "Carry on…It shouldn't make any difference to the outcome, considering who I'm up against."

At first Naruto just stood there, staring at the white haired Jônin with an unreadable expression.

Then he exploded.

"I'm going to beat you to a pulp!" Naruto roared as he charged forward, all thoughts of plans and scheming forgotten.

Naruto leapt into the air, intending to feint a strike to the Jônin's face.

No sooner than leaving the ground, he knew something was wrong. He twisted his lower body, so it would seem like he intended to kick, but the whole movement was off. The worst part was that he really had no time to think about it, as he was already in motion.

Without stopping his spin, he lashed out with his fist towards Kakashi's face. The attack was easily blocked, but Naruto wasn't done.

He used the force of his own attack to twist around in mid-air, trying to follow up with a sideways spinning kick. The very same he had feinted a moment before.

As with the first attack, he instantly knew it wasn't good enough. Kakashi dodged easily, just by bending his knees faster than Naruto was able to rotate. His attacks were just too slow.

He couldn't stop however, as that would only open more room for counter attack than he already had. With a last effort to land a hit on the tall shinobi, he settled for a simple strike propelled by the same rotation caused by the kick…which hit nothing but air.

From behind him, he heard Kakashi's voice say, "Showing your back so many times in a fight is not good at all…"

He also suddenly heard Sakura shout from the bushes on his left in an alarmed voice, "Naruto! Get out of there! You'll be killed!"

It just had time to register before he again heard Kakashi, "Too late."

A glance over his shoulder made chills shoot up his spine, there was something dreadfully familiar about the situation. Something that went deeper than anything he could explain.

Pure terror shook him as he heard Kakashi's next words "Konohagakure no Sato's most secret and most sacred taijutsu technique! Sennen Goroshi!" The words were followed by a sensation of horrible wrongness and utter despair, and then…Naruto dissolved into a cloud of smoke.

/

From the bushes, Naruto had a good view of what Kakashi had done. It was some sort of horrible torture technique, he was sure of it. It was so horrible that he could almost feel it from where he stood.

He'd hoped that the clone would last longer than it did, but it had gotten angry and just rushed in like a madman.

It reminded him of what his genius dream had said. It was no good getting angry over something like that. After all, if the teacher was reading a book it would only mean that he had one hand busy, and wouldn't be able to fight as effectively as if he had both hands free.

Still, that teacher was really something else. He'd managed to fight the clone with just one arm. That was seriously good taijutsu. The worst part was that he'd done it all while reading that book of his.

_The book! _The book was the key! The original plan had been to navigate Kakashi closer to Naruto's location, closer than he was at the moment anyway, and attack from two different angles at the same time with another clone that was close by. Now that that plan was out, the book would have to suffice.

Naruto darted out from hiding, sprinting towards Kakashi's back.

/

When the clone dissolved into a cloud of smoke, Kakashi was baffled. '_Kage Bunshin?_' he thought. It had to be the technique he learnt from the forbidden scroll, the technique the boy used to defeat the traitor Mizuki.

Kakashi was also silently impressed. Using clones to test out the enemy was a tactic that even Jônin used when it was necessary. The taijutsu that the clone had used however was not much to brag about. There'd been several times where the boy could have been disabled without much difficulty.

He knew that in a second or two, he would see if it really was all the boy had to fend with.

He spun around and blocked high with his left hand, as Naruto tried to deliver a drop kick aimed at his shoulder. As he blocked high, Naruto would be out of balance for a follow up. The boy was in no position too attack again before reaching the ground, as he was out of reach.

Kakashi expected Naruto to drop towards the ground to follow up with more attacks, but was surprised when he felt Naruto's weight pressing down on his blocking arm.

Naruto was using his own momentum, combined with whatever leverage he got from the block, to go up, over Kakashi, kicking with the other foot downwards, towards his head.

He blocked the kick easily with his right elbow, whilst grabbing Naruto's other leg with the same arm. It was at that moment that Kakashi noticed not one, but two mistakes on his part.

The first; and probably greatest mistake was that he was holding his book with his left hand, open, content pointing upwards, where they could easily be read…**by a minor.**

The second mistake was that his left hand, which his beloved book occupied, would be unable get a good hold of anything without dropping the content, risking damage to the **'signed'** work of art. If that wasn't enough, Naruto proceeded to fold his legs, trying to get a hold of Kakashi's arms which Naruto was currently using as a floor.

Naruto's attempts to trap his arms made Kakashi aware of a body moving at high speed towards his back. For half a second he thought that it could have been Sasuke or Sakura that came to help the blond…but they were still concealing themselves in the trees. No…it was another Kage Bunshin.

One clone was distracting him, occupying his arms and his focus, prohibiting him from using any jutsu, as another went for the bell. The boy's plan was coming together.

A kunai was thrown out of some nearby bushes at high speed, aimed at his head. Kakashi instantly knew it was not meant to kill. It was a deadly weapon, true, but it was thrown form his right side, so it wasn't in what people considered his blind spot.

It was another diversion, probably intended to keeping his attention away from the second attacker…whom from the sound of it had gone airborne.

This was a bad situation for Kakashi, especially if the lesson was to sink in. With speed and force that he previously had no intention to use against the genin, he broke the hold that Naruto had on his arms and flung him away. The second Naruto connected forcefully with the back of Kakashi's knees.

Kakashi however had been able to weave the seals for a Kawarimi no Jutsu, so Naruto only hit the lower end of the log that Kakashi swapped place with, tipping that end upwards. The result of this action was that the upper end came tipping down, connecting not too gently with the attacking Naruto's head.

In hiding, Kakashi allowed himself to breath.

That was unexpected. Naruto was supposed to be dead-last in his class, with no real natural talent.

Now however, Kakashi was in doubt. True, both his form and technical abilities wasn't very good…but to use such an advanced technique to gain the tactical advantage that early was something that one would only expect from an experienced fighter.

If he were to judge, he would have thought that the first clone was most likely intended to heard him into a trap, as the second had to move in the open longer than what was advisable.

Even so, it had played a key role for the trap to work. It occupied his attention and his arms…and after a second thought, Kakashi realized that it was probably supposed to act as a weight when the third would kick the back of his knees, effectively folding Kakashi backwards.

The third Naruto seemed to be the real one…as he was still cursing angrily under his breath and holding his head where the log had hit him. The only thing Kakashi could fault him for was that the boy was louder than Gai, and needed to work on his taijutsu.

Naruto managed to push him into a corner, but that was mostly because Kakashi wanted to see what he would do. The boy's attack's in general was a bit weak, and his movement's was unsure and hesitant, as if he wanted to do two things at once. If this team against all odds were to pass, he would have to do some work on it.

About the overall effort, Kakashi could only say that it was a clear team-effort. Too bad, Naruto's team consisted entirely of himself. If Sakura and/or Sasuke had joined him, Kakashi would happily have allowed them to get a hold of one of the bells.

As it was however, Naruto would learn nothing if he was able to get one by himself.

The encounter had also taught Kakashi something useful. He was not going to underestimate the other two like he had Naruto.

/

Naruto was not happy about the outcome. It hadn't been enough, not enough at all. It was unfair how strong this new sensei seemed to be. How on earth were they supposed to beat someone like that?

He made haste getting out of the clearing; he needed to get into cover to plan his next move. When he got clear, he hid himself among the branches of a nearby tree.

What should he do? He had enough chakra to create several more clones, but somehow he felt that numbers would do him little good against the Jônin.

Maybe he could lure the white haired man to chase him into a trap? Thinking back on how the man had acted during their encounter, he dismissed the idea. The objective was for them to get a bell, not for him to fight them.

Why would he make it so that only two people could pass anyway? It just seemed like and idiotic idea to Naruto. It was clear that they couldn't fight someone like that on their own, so it made little sense to split them up like this.

Then again…Kakashi did start to read a book right before he fought Naruto, not exactly sensible behaviour.

He started to wonder if he should try to team up with someone when it happened. From somewhere to the east he heard a scream.

It was a girl's scream, so it had to be Sakura. Without even thinking about how much he exposed himself, Naruto made his way towards the scream as fast as he could manage.

Had the bastard Jônin hurt her? He _wouldn't do that, would he?_

It didn't take him long to locate her, and she looked horrible.

Her face was contracted in an expression of pure terror. Foam was coming from her mouth and she was pale as a ghost. _What the hell happened to her? _

"Sakura?" he tried carefully.

There was no response. "Sakura?" he tried again, shaking her gently by the shoulder. As before there came no answer. _What should I do? What is wrong with her?_

/

From his hiding place in a nearby tree, Kakashi observed Naruto's attempt to wake the girl. He had no idea how such a simple genjutsu could affect her as strongly as it apparently did. But now that he observed at least one of his temporary charges taking priority of a team-mate over the objective, he allowed himself to hope.

There was the off chance that Naruto had figured out the meaning of the test, but studying the little scene below, assured him that wasn't the case.

Naruto was genuinely concerned over the state Sakura was in.

Now if only he could get the others to work with him to get a bell. That would enable them to pass the test, and actually becoming a team.

Looking at the sun, Kakashi decided that it was time to find the last member of the team. Sasuke needed to be given a chance as well. He was the top of his class after all.

There had been some shuriken that he threw earlier, but that had been easily avoided. And even if Sakura had been easy to trap, Kakashi would not underestimate Sasuke.

Making his way back towards the start point, he found the boy hidden in a tree. Sasuke hadn't seen him yet, but that was about to change.

Kakashi moved himself, so as to appear to just be strolling along a path beneath the tree. He had his book out, but wasn't paying attention to the content, as he'd done with Naruto. Sasuke needed to learn, just like the others.

From the corner of his eye, and from the boy's scent, he kept close attention to Sasuke's movements.

The boy moved quickly from one area to another, probably setting some traps. That was a clever idea, but hardly educational. Kakashi hid himself and made a couple of shadow clones and sent them, unnoticed by Sasuke, to disable the traps. Then he was back in the open as if nothing had happened.

It took less than five seconds for the clones to disarm the traps. Both traps were designed to toss kunai at two different locations, indicating that he wanted to move Kakashi away from those areas. Rookie number one would be in for a little surprise when he decided to strike.

It didn't take long before several shuriken was hurled out from Sasuke's hiding place. Kakashi didn't even bother to use a Kawarimi. He just turned himself out of the way, all the time keeping his nose buried in the book.

Kakashi had to smile at the noticeable lack of action in the seconds that followed. It would seem that Sasuke still had a little to learn about how to deal with unexpected turn of events.

After a couple more seconds, Sasuke walked out of hiding, with a dark scowl plastered on his face. Kakashi would probably have found the expression a bit more intimidating, if it hadn't come from a twelve year old boy.

Kakashi lowered the book and peered over the top. He made sure that the look he gave Sasuke was portraying boredom, as to make the boy even more annoyed than he already seemed to be.

"I was wondering when you would show up," Kakashi said, lowering the book enough to show his whole face.

"I'm not like the other two," the boy stated as he walked closer.

Sasuke had a body language that told Kakashi that he would underestimate anyone. It told the world that he was the superior no matter who he was facing. The way he acted superior was at some level designed to make his enemies mad (it had been a clan trait)…probably worked most of the time to.

At the moment, he was almost daring Kakashi to lower the book...and in doing so, encouraging him to keep reading in defiance.

Kakashi decided that he would abide to the boy's body language and see how it would go. "That is a lot of talk…now let us see if there is anything to it shall we?" he replied while putting the book away.

Not one muscle in Sasuke's face moved. Kakashi had to credit the boy for keeping his true feelings hidden as well as he did. Only experience told Kakashi what the boy was about to do next.

Sasuke shot forward with good speed for a genin. As he leapt into the air, Kakashi deducted what the genius wanted to do. The angle of the attack was not good for a convenient attack intended to harm. A high kick aimed at his side, would force Kakashi to block high, making it easy to grab the foot with the other arm, occupying both of them.

Kakashi had no more time to think as the boy was too close, but whatever his plan was, Kakashi would make sure that it failed. With sudden increase of speed, he grabbed the boy's leg before it connected, and used Sasuke's momentum combined with his own to throw the boy along the direction he had jumped.

Sasuke tumbled on the ground but managed to recover quickly. He shot to his feet and immediately started weaving seals.

Kakashi noted the combination and his eye widened in recognition. _Is the boy able to use such an advanced jutsu at that age?_ He hurriedly weaved his own hand seal combination for a 'Doton' jutsu.

Kakashi finished before Sasuke, and dropped into the ground as the earth liquefied beneath his feet like water, but even underground he felt the soaring heat of the jutsu Sasuke unleashed.

No wonder he was the rookie of the year, if he had learned that kind of jutsu at such a young age. It usually took years of practice to be able to use elemental techniques, and would require that you, at the very least had someone to teach you how it should be done.

That would mean that Sasuke had learnt it when his family was still alive…year's ago. No wonder he considered a genius.

Now was not the time to dwell on such things however, as the boy needed to be taught why he was better off when he had help than on his own.

Kakashi shifted his location so he was directly under the boy, and proceeded to grab his leg and pulled him under in the same movement as he got out.

As Kakashi left the ground, the earth solidified, trapping Sasuke's body from the neck down.

Kakashi kneeled in front of the trapped genin, mostly just to annoy him. "Much talk, but not much to show for it," he teased.

Sasuke didn't respond verbally, he just continued to glare.

"The third shinobi way…ninjutsu," Kakashi said to no one in particular before looking down at Sasuke. "That was an impressive jutsu…so you were right about not being like the others…they could at least use their techniques effectively."

Now he was just teasing. Sasuke's jutsu was in a completely different league than anything his team-mates would be able to dish out. Naruto's Kage Bunshin was just impressive in the amount of chakra it took to produce them. Sasuke's combined amount with manipulation, to the extent that most chuunin wouldn't be able to do anything like what Sasuke just did.

Sasuke didn't respond this time either, but his scowl deepened at the insult.

Not having anything to do with his remaining time, Kakashi just stood up and left for the clearing with the training-poles and the memorial stone.

From over his shoulder he heard Sasuke curse angrily under his breath.

As he walked away, he thought about the genins individual performances.

He would say that Naruto was the one that did best, even if his taijutsu form was lacking. The reason he'd done so well was Kakashi's own slip.

Naruto had caught him off guard with an attack that should have been leagues above his abilities. His use of Kage Bunshin also wasn't lost on Kakashi. He worked them as a team, doing different tasks directed at one goal, just the thing Kakashi was looking for…if only he would include the rest of the real team.

Sakura had been the most disappointing of them all. She'd just run back and forth, trying to find Sasuke. It had been ridiculously easy to trap her in a simple genjutsu that had knocked her out right away. What was most surprising was the fact that the illusion was designed to create panic…not to knock people out.

The rookie of the year wasn't disappointing at all. He'd planed ahead, and would probably have succeeded in leading him into a trap if he hadn't disabled them.

The boy had the skills, there was no denying that. The Katon he used also showed how advanced his chakra was developed, and hinted at a potential that was largely untapped. The last Uchiha still had a lot to learn about surprises though. He didn't seem to handle plan deviations as well as one could have hoped.

Still, they all lacked the basic skill that this test was designed for. None of them resorted to real teamwork. He would give Naruto a point on the fact that he rushed back to Sakura when he heard her scream. That was a trait that should be in place with every shinobi, but it was far from enough.

Thinking it over, he took off in the direction he had left her. No harm observing them during the remaining time.

He found Naruto there, still trying to wake the girl. Kakashi noted that Naruto had no clue what he was doing, so it appeared that his ninja talent wasn't only lacking in taijutsu.

What was interesting to note however was that he seemed to have completely forgotten about the mission to get a bell and was now fully occupied with Sakura's wellbeing.

After a moment or two, Sakura started to stir. She got up in a sitting position so fast that she actually knocked Naruto over with her head. She then started looking around, not really seeing anything, muttering "Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun!" over and over, as if she expected him to be there.

She was in shock.

/

Naruto seated himself upright and rubbed his forehead where Sakura had head-butted him. "That hurt Sakura-chan," he whined, but her expression was enough to shatter any annoyance on his part.

He was genuinely worried when she didn't wake up no matter how much he tried to wake her. He had thought her paralyzed or maybe even worse.

Now, Sakura's eyes seemed to search for something, but she didn't even noticing him. She kept asking "Where is Sasuke-kun?" in a small voice.

The question wasn't directed at him, but seemingly to the world in general.

It was as if she was asking herself, searching for an answer she didn't know. He recognised it from one of Iruka-sensei's lectures. Sakura was in shock.

"Sakura-chan?" he tried carefully.

She didn't respond more than to turn her head a little in his direction. Her eyes however didn't focusing on him.

"Sakura-chan….? He tried again in a softer voice that came out a little hoarsely.

This time she did respond, but not to his words. She suddenly just got to her feet, and started to franticly look around, repeating "Sasuke-kun?" over and over.

When she suddenly took off, Naruto scrambled to his feet and ran after her. He managed to follow but had to work to keep up.

"Sakura-chan, wait!" he shouted.

This time, he got an answer. "We have to find Sasuke-kun!" she yelled back almost desperately.

"Why? What happened?" he shouted back. He wondered if it could have something to do with why she had been out cold.

He had no time for more musing, because just as Sakura entered a clearing, she suddenly froze in mid-step. She went white as a ghost…then she screamed and fainted.

Worried, he darted over to protect his unconscious team-mate. What he saw however made him blink in surprise, and then he lost his breath to hysterical laughter.

Sasuke was there, buried to his neck in the ground. He had no idea why Sakura fainted and felt a bit guilty about not helping her right away, but the sight was just too much.

"Stop laughing you idiot!" shouted the buried Sasuke who didn't find the situation that funny at all, and seeing Naruto bent over laughing just made it more humiliating.

When Sasuke resumed his effort to try and dig himself out, Naruto regained his self-control, and moved to help him, chuckling as he did.

Sasuke only huffed when Naruto started to dig him out. Sasuke was too proud to actually ask for help, but wasn't about to refuse.

When he finally was free, he didn't even thank Naruto for the help. He just moved over to Sakura and proceeded to wake her up.

He didn't have to put much effort in it; he only kneeled by her side and said her name, "Sakura."

He had much more success then Naruto did and she came too in a few seconds. The first thing she did was to hug Sasuke fiercely and start to cry.

"You're alive!" she managed to shout in between sobs.

Naruto rushed over, worried again, "Sakura-chan! What's wrong?" he tried, but she didn't answer. She had buried her face in Sasuke's neck, making the fabric damp with her tears.

Sasuke on the other hand wasn't that worried, and he just shook her off. It took some work, but he managed to pry her off him when she calmed down a bit.

"I-I thought y-you w-were hurt…" she tried to explain, still crying.

"Well I'm not," Sasuke answered back as he got to his feet.

"Yeah…but…I-I saw you…You h-had so many k-kunai a-and s-shuriken in y-you…" she calmed down and got her voice under control again. "I thought you were hurt…" was all she managed as way of explanation, voice still weak.

Naruto got a lump in his throat when he heard how much Sakura cared. She had really believed that Sasuke was hurt, and it had hurt her feelings really badly. A stray thought of Sasuke and Sakura as a happy couple entered his mind. For some reason, he thought they would make a good match.

There was a brief moment where the world got a little out of focus, and he had to stifle a yawn. It would seem he was a bit tired still.

Sasuke's sigh brought him back in the moment.

Sasuke looked up at the sun. "Time's running out. It's almost noon."

He turned towards the other two before he started to walk away, "I'm off."

Naruto was about to give a rude comment, but Sakura interrupted him, "Sasuke-kun do you honestly believe you can get one of those bells?"

Naruto wasn't sure, but he thought that he detected a little bit of desperation in Sakura's voice.

Sasuke just grunted as way of response and continued walking.

Sakura continued her rant, somewhat more desperately. "Uh…I mean…there's no more time and…even if we couldn't manage it this time…I'm sure, next time…if we give it our all…"

Sasuke cut her off with one of the nastiest glares Naruto had ever seen him make. Sakura, whom the glare was intended, looked like she'd been struck, then she just dropped her head in defeat.

Sasuke turned to leave again, but after a few steps he stopped and lingered. His back was against them, so they couldn't see his face.

"Only I can kill him," he stated. His voice was low and held no determination. It was as if he were confessing something.

Naruto wasn't sure what to do. It was like he was intruding on a conversation he wasn't meant to hear.

Sakura looked up again, suddenly very nervous. Naruto knew how she felt. He was afraid to move, and remind them that he actually was there.

"Who…? Do you mean Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked perplexed, very carefully, so not to disturb the Uchiha's train of though.

Sasuke didn't visibly react, he only continued to talk. "He made me…cry…"

Naruto wasn't sure what to think about that. He didn't see the great harm in crying. Sure it was a waste of time, but not serious enough to kill over. He himself had cried on several occasions…usually when he was very happy.

Neither did Sakura seem all that sure after Sasuke's statement, she resorted to repeating what Sasuke had said, forming it into a question. "You cried…?"

This was starting to get ridiculous Naruto thought. He was actually starting to become scared by the scene. What would they do if he interrupted? Would they get angry? Embarrassed?

With slow motions, he tried to walk away from the two, who didn't seem to notice him any more.

As he moved further away, he heard Sasuke mutter something under his breath, too low to make out any real words. Sakura on the other hand was a little louder, "What…what are you talking about…!"

What he heard next chilled him to the bone for some reason he didn't fully understand.

"My only goal is to have my revenge. I have to become stronger than he is…now," he heard Sasuke say with determination.

Something clicked in Naruto's head. Something was very wrong…like towers of cards just came crashing down all around him, and he had no idea why.

Sasuke's words were very egocentric and disturbing, true, but it was more than that…It was as if the words somehow represented a deep down fear, making Naruto's stomach contract painfully and he felt physically ill.

He didn't know exactly why, but he needed Sasuke to stop talking about…whatever he was talking about…'_Killing his brother! Avenger!'..._He just needed him to stop.

Without thinking he stormed back into the clearing, "Sasuke! Listen to me! Don't think like that! Please, just don't think like that!" he pleaded. He just _needed_ Sasuke to stop.

Before Sasuke had time to answer or look at him for that matter, the bell signalled the end of the exercise.

Sasuke looked in the direction of the sound, and Naruto heard him say, "Crap! I should have saved my breath." Then he just walked away towards the sound.

Sakura didn't say anything. She just sighed heavily and followed Sasuke's lead.

Naruto realized that his hands were trembling and his t-shirt felt damp with cold sweat. It wasn't from cooped up energy, or anger, but out of fear.

He was genuinely afraid of what Sasuke had talked about. The bell felt like a blessing, as it had effectively stopped Sasuke from talking about whatever it was he was talking about.

With a deep breath he started to jog after his two team-mates, trying intently to forget the horrible feeling he'd just felt. "Hey guys! Wait up!" he shouted, but neither of them bothered to answer.

It was getting irritating to be ignored, but the irritation also washed away any lingering fear, so he stuck with it. If they didn't want to talk, he wouldn't talk to them either.

As the silence stretched on, his thoughts involuntarily drifted back to what Sasuke had said. It was strange to realize that he didn't know the reason why he reacted like he did.

It had just felt so horrible wrong when Sasuke talked like that. It was a bit like yesterday on the school roof, only a hundred times worse. Maybe the Hokage would know what was wrong. After all, the old geezer knew about everything.

When the trio walked into the clearing with the three training-posts, they found it empty. There were a couple of bento boxes by the stone that hadn't been there before when the test started, but no Kakashi.

Without saying a word Sasuke walked over to the poles. In no hurry to talk, Sakura just followed him in silence. Refusing to be the first to break the silence, Naruto shuffled after her, grumbling as he did.

"Ah, you're all here," they heard Kakashi say when they were halfway to their destination. All of them turned towards the masked Jônin, who was now standing by the stone, but Sakura looked unsure about something.

"What do you mean, all here? I can't see Naruto anywhere," she replied.

Naruto found her words downright hurtful. "Hey! I'm right here you know!" he replied angrily over his shoulder.

Sasuke didn't say a word, but raised an eyebrow.

Kakashi on the other hand just shook his head. "I'm very disappointed in all of you. Naruto is here, in fact, he's been with you for a while now."

Naruto nodded sagely and pumped his chest. "Damn right I have!"

Sakura and Sasuke just looked at the white haired Jônin. After a couple of seconds Sasuke muttered, "…genjutsu."

Sakura immediately started weaving hand-seals, "Kai!"

The world around Naruto started to wobble a bit, but nothing more happened as far as Naruto was concerned. For Sasuke and Sakura however, Naruto melted into existence a few feet away.

"What were you doing Naruto! Why didn't you end the genjutsu when the bell rang?" Sakura scolded.

Naruto however didn't even know what she was talking about. "What do you mean? What genjutsu?" he resorted irritably. This was getting ridicules.

Kakashi sighed, "And you two didn't even notice when he disappeared," he said in a disappointed voice. Turning towards Naruto he added, "More surprisingly however, is that Naruto here didn't seem to notice anything at all."

"Didn't notice what?" Naruto asked, still confused. He had lost track of what was going on.

Sasuke scowl deepened. "You cast the jutsu," he accused, "Why?"

Kakashi smiled back at him, "To see if you would notice."

"You cast a jutsu on me!" Naruto demanded outraged. He received a slap on the back of his head from Sakura. She was getting tired of Naruto's stupidity. "Shut up and listen Baka!"

"Yes I did," Kakashi replied, unfazed by Naruto's outburst.

/

Five minutes later Naruto found himself tied to the pole in the middle. Sakura and Sasuke were seated on either side of him, not looking happy at all. Kakashi stood a few feet away, not looking all that pleased himself, then again, he didn't look disappointed either.

The silence was only broken by the genin's growling stomach. Even Naruto joined, as his makeshift breakfast hadn't filled him up, just like Ayame warned him it wouldn't.

"Well, listen to the little stomachs growl…" Kakashi began. "By the way you three, I have an announcement about this exercise."

No one interrupted him. They just continued to announce their hunger without words.

"None of you need worry any more about being sent back to the academy," he told them with a smile.

Naruto felt the edges of his mouth being drawn upwards into a smile. They'd passed? He told them they had passed!

"We don't need to…It means all three of us…" Naruto tried, but was too exited to say anything right.

Kakashi interrupted him before he managed to correct what he said or add anything more, "…are hopeless. More schooling would be pointless."

The Jônin didn't move a muscle. He just stood there smiling, with his hands in his pockets. As the excitement died down he added, "None of you will ever be shinobi!"

No one said anything at first. Naruto was so shocked that he couldn't even protest.

Kakashi lost his easy going attitude and looked much more serious as he glared at them. "Give it up. None of you will ever be a ninja!"

Somehow, to Naruto, this wasn't as bad as when Sasuke had talked about revenge, but it was close to it. If he didn't get to be a shinobi, then how could he ever become Hokage? How could he win the respect of the village? How could Hinata ever respect him?

Naruto panicked and pointedly forgot everything he'd learned from the dreams and from the academy. "What do you mean give up!" he shouted. He fought against the ropes, but they were too strong. "Give me a break! Okay, so maybe none of us got our hands on one of your stupid bells but why the heck should we quit over that!"

"Because not one of you has what it takes!" answered Kakashi without missing a beat.

What happened next took Naruto completely by surprise. Suddenly Sasuke was charging towards Kakashi. It all happened so fast that Naruto hadn't even registered him getting to his feet. He heard Sakura cry "Sasuke!" just next to him, forgetting the '–kun' altogether.

Sasuke drew a Kunai in mid sprint, and raised it for a stab.

What happened next was done so fast that Naruto was unable to see what really happened; only that Sasuke was suddenly pinned to the ground with one arm held behind his back by Kakashi, who was sitting on Sasuke's back and resting a foot on the teme's head.

Naruto was speechless. A small part of him remembered what the white haired man had said. Two things he had said actually; about fighting fast to conceal secrets, and about loosing control of your temper.

Kakashi had moved so fast, and defeated Sasuke so easily that Naruto could only look on in awe. And then there was Sasuke, whom was usually calm and acting as if everything about him was cool, brought down like Chouji without lunch. It didn't take him long to realize that he to had not been thinking straight a few moments ago.

All that prevented him from doing something stupid was the ropes that held him in place. He didn't think that he would have attacked the teacher like Sasuke did, but still…he would have done something stupid.

Kakashi just sat calmly on Sasuke, looking as bored as ever, "What you are is a trio of spoiled brats…"

He was cut off by Sakura who shouted at him in outrage "Don't step on Sasuke-kun! Get off him!"

Kakashi silenced her, and any addition Naruto cared to offer with another irritated glare. "Are you trying to make fun of shinobi with your behaviour?" He demanded. "Well, are you?"

Neither Naruto nor Sakura responded. "Did you even stop to wonder for one minute why you were divided into teams?"

The question struck a tune for Naruto. Teams generally worked by…well, working together. There had been several group assignments in the academy…could it be?

"Uh…Excuse me?" Sakura ask in an uncertain voice.

"Obviously not," Kakashi said, while putting pressure on Sasuke's arm, making him winch. "So you missed the entire point of the exercise."

Naruto was still a little out of the moment, so when he thought out loud, "…teamwork?" he didn't really realize that he had said it out loud.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, and his mask moved as if he got a smug smile under it. "That's right."

Sakura glanced over her shoulder at Naruto, her eye's where asking a silent question. Sasuke actually managed to look surprised that Naruto seemed to know something at all, but that was more because it is hard to remain proud and all knowing when you got someone's sandal on your head.

"If the three of you had come at me…together…you might have been able to take the bells," Kakashi explained. He had a more relaxed tone than before.

Naruto felt proud of his lucky guess. None of the others seemed to notice his surprise; he wanted to keep it that way.

Sakura on the other hand noticed something that Naruto had not. "If we were expected to function as a team, why do you only have two bells?" she asked bewildered. "Even if we'd worked together, one of us still would have had to go without lunch. You're preaching teamwork, but you played us against each other!"

Naruto got a bit nervous. It wouldn't be good if she asked him anything about that.

Kakashi just gave her a bored look, as if she had missed something obvious.

"That was the idea."

Naruto and Sakura stared at the masked Jônin. Seeing their reaction, Kakashi decided to elaborate. "The situation was set up to reveal which of you would set aside your individual interests and propose to the others that you should work together."

He settled his gaze on Sakura before he continued. "Instead of which you Sakura, ignored Naruto who was trying his best, right in front of you, while you focused your attention on Sasuke, though you didn't know were he was."

Sakura blushed in embarrassment and was saddened by the accusation.

"Sasuke here," Kakashi dropped his gaze down towards Sasuke, "had already decided that the two of you would just get in his way and he would be better off on his own…"

Sasuke scowled as Kakashi moved his foot a bit, forcing his face down in contact with the ground.

Kakashi shifted his attention onto Naruto, "And then there is Naruto, who tried to do single-handedly what should have been the work of all three." Naruto felt embarrassed by the comment, but reacted only with a pout.

There was a moment of silence before Kakashi continued.

"You are a team! Learn to act as one! Yes it is necessary for a ninja to have individual skills, but what is even more important now is teamwork! Making a play as an individual is bad for the team and exposes you comrades to unnecessary danger."

Kakashi reached behind his back into his equipment-pouch while he talked. "You might as well kill them yourself…here's an example…"

The Jônin took out a Kunai and held it to Sasuke's throat. "…Sakura! Kill Naruto. Or Sasuke dies."

Sakura's eyes were wide open. She looked frantic, which made Naruto very nervous. '_She wouldn't…would she?'_

"That day could come, when one of you may be taken hostage, and you're forced to make such a choice," Kakashi explained as he got off Sasuke's back.

"When you are on a mission your lives will always be on the line."

Sasuke seated himself upright as Kakashi walked over to the stone.

"Look at this marker…all these names carved into the stone. Hero's of our village…ninja."

Naruto's ear caught the word 'hero'. If the names on that stone belonged to heroes…then his name should be on it too.

He wanted to shout out that his name was going on that stone, but then he decided against it. He had a good thing going, being the one that was right about the real meaning of the exercise, even if it was mostly luck…why spoil it with an outburst.

Kakashi was silent for a moment before he continued.

"It is a memorial. These are the names of people that have died in the line of duty…"

Naruto felt his determination to get his name on the stone just drain away, leaving a pit where his stomach should be.

"…It includes the names of my best friends," Kakashi continued. He looked at the genin over his shoulder, his expression showing dead seriousness.

"…If this had been real…you would not only have failed you're mission…you would most likely be dead. Only one of you would have had a chance of having you're name added to this stone."

Kakashi's words didn't just tell them how serious he was, it also teased their curiosity. Naruto found himself hoping that it was him Kakashi was talking about. That way, he would at least have that much.

The Jônin turned around and faced them. His expression didn't change. "…it would have been Naruto."

Naruto didn't know exactly how to react. He started to smile, but the sudden tension in the air stopped him. He could literally feel the anger coming off Sakura and Sasuke.

"After he failed to get a bell, and he heard Sakura scream…" Sakura blushed when Kakashi mentioned it,"…he went out of his way to help her. When the two of you found Sasuke, he was the one to dig him out."

Naruto smiled at his team-mates irritation, which only helped to make it flare up again. He knew it was stupid to make them angry, but it wasn't often someone told him he was better than the teme.

Sakura carefully raised a hand. Kakashi nodded for her to start asking, "Sensei, if Naruto is the only one that would have ended up with his name on the stone…why is he the only one tied to a pole?"

"Yeah! Why?" Naruto agreed. It was nice being the centre of attention but he was somewhat curious about that himself.

Kakashi shook his head. "I didn't say that he would have ended up on it, just that he was the only one that had a chance," he answered in a disappointed tone.

Naruto frowned.

Kakashi looked directly at Naruto, "When he helped the two of you, he forgot all about the target. A ninja who chooses team-mates over an important assignment isn't rewarded…often it's downright frowned upon."

For some reason, Naruto got the feeling that Kakashi wasn't really disappointed. Not at him anyway. It just sounded so odd…and out of place when the Jônin said it.

"In this scenario, Naruto has compromised the objective and is now being punished for it." Kakashi looked at the stone again before he continued. "He had the chance and opportunity to rally the two of you…but he didn't."

Naruto felt more confused than embarrassed from what Kakashi was saying. It was as if the Jônin was praising Naruto at the same time as he was criticising him.

"That said…he did better than the rest of you. He was at least trying to do something in stead of just running around like children," Kakashi added harshly.

Sakura looked at the ground, refusing to meet Kakashi's gaze. Sasuke didn't react at all, not visibly.

The silence stretched on, making the genin uncomfortable.

"…Listen. I'll give you all one last chance. One that will be far more difficult than our last little game with bells," Kakashi said after a while. "If you are prepared to continue, you may have one of the lunch boxes here...But no sharing with Naruto, he goes hungry."

Naruto's stomach growled in protest along with him. "Why?"

"Because you abandoned the objective, shinobi are not rewarded for such acts," Kakashi responded as he made to leave.

After two steps he stopped and glared back at them. "If either of you two feeds him, you fail the test right there. My word is law. Do you understand?"

Before anyone had time to respond, the Jônin disappeared in a swirl of leaves and dust.

"I don't need to eat anything! I ate breakfast so I'm not hungry!" proclaimed Naruto in an effort to keep the spirit up. His stomach however was disagreeing with him, somewhat more convincingly than his words.

The other two didn't say anything, and from their expressions, Naruto didn't think they would say anything friendly if they did.

Sasuke shuffled over and took one of the boxes without a word. Sakura followed his example, and both of them seated themselves by the poles next to Naruto.

He could smell rice, which seemed to still be warm. It made his mouth water.

Naruto could do nothing but listen to the eating. He thought the noises were a bit louder then necessary, but that might just have been because he was hungry.

Luckily it didn't take long for his stomach to start growling again trying desperately to stop the sound of the other two eating.

Hungry as he was, he couldn't help but notices that after a few minutes Sasuke had stopped eating.

After another couple of agonizing minutes, Sasuke trusted his bento box in Naruto's direction. "Here, eat," he ordered without even looking up.

Sakura nearly chocked on her food. "Bu…But Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei told us—!" Her protest was cut short by Sasuke, whom still had not raised his gaze from the ground.

"I'm not worried. He's probably miles away by now. And we'll all need our strength if we're going to work together to get those bells."

He paused two seconds before he continued. "You're no good to me if you're just going to be a liability."

Naruto didn't know what to say. The teme wanted him to eat, even if Kakashi had said otherwise.

A moment later, Sakura trusted her lunch towards Naruto as well. She didn't say anything, didn't even look him in the face.

A rush of emotion washed over Naruto. They were in fact risking their own chance to become real genin…for him. It made him feel both embarrassed and touched. It felt somewhat like when he was eating ramen with Iruka-sensei.

He was so moved by the act that all he managed to say was a weak, but emotional "thank you," to show his appreciation.

Out of nowhere, a large cloud of dust and smoke whirled up before the three.

The furious masked face of Kakashi appeared right in front of them, shouting at the top of his voice. "YOU…"

The face twisted into a smile, "…Pass!"

The genin stayed silent, too shocked to even move. Kakashi stood over them, as happy as they'd ever seen him.

Sakura was the first to say something. "We pass! But…why!"

"Because you have now taken a great leap forward," Kakashi answered cheerfully, if not very helpfully.

Sakura was the one to ask the next questions as well, but Naruto was just as curious. "Umm…what do you mean?"

"Up until now, all you've done is to listen unquestioningly to everything I've said," Kakashi explained, straightening up.

"A true shinobi seeks for the hidden meaning within the hidden meanings. In a ninja's world, those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders…are trash."

Kakashi paused and looked up at the sky. "However…those who don't care for, and support their comrades…are even lower than trash!"

Naruto was stunned. Moved, confused, embarrassed, surprised but most of all stunned. This teacher was actually very cool.

Kakashi looked form Sasuke to Sakura. "I made sure that you were set against little Naruto-kun here…", Kakashi was cut off by Naruto's instinctive exclamation-

"Hey!"

-But just continued as if it never happened. "…but you still decided to give him food…even after I specifically ordered you not to."

None of the Genin said anything.

"This exercise is now concluded. You all pass!" Kakashi gave them a thumbs-up.

"That's all for today, Team seven. Your duties will commence tomorrow!"

Naruto's cheering could be heard all the way back to Konoha.

/

"So, how'd it go Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked as he and Iruka arrived at the ramen stand.

Iruka had met up with Naruto, not long after he managed to pry himself off the pole where Kakashi and the rest of the team had left him.

It may have been a cruel thing to do, but Naruto had a sneaking feeling that it had something to do with escaping techniques, and in the end he had managed to free himself anyway.

"It was great Ayame-Oneesan!" Naruto replied happily. "That Kaka-sensei is really cool! And his test was really easy!" he lied proudly.

"Oh? Was it now?" Teuchi asked as he joined his daughter at the counter to take their order. Both Naruto and Iruka ordered regular flavoured ramen, before continuing.

"Yeah, it was! It was all about teamwork and stuff!"

Iruka smiled at how exited Naruto was for passing the test. In truth, he was really impressed. He'd eaten his lunch with the Hokage, who had told him about Kakashi's record for failing teams. Naruto's team was the first he had ever passed.

Iruka was dragged back to the moment when he heard Naruto say, "Thank you Oneesan and Ojisan! The oranges and all the ramen before bed really helped! You're the best!"

He looked at the ramen making duo in search for clues about what the genin was talking about. Naruto noticed, "They gave me some really good advice Iruka-sensei!" he explained.

Ayame folded her arms and nodded sagely, "People don't work without food. That goes without saying."

Teuchi, whom had started working on their order nodded in agreement. "Telling people not to eat isn't what you would expect from a responsible adult…not even shinobi is able to go without food."

Iruka was getting confused and turned to Naruto. The boy scratched the back of his head in mild embarrassment, "Kaka-sensei told us not to eat breakfast before the test…but I got these oranges from Ayame…"

Naruto suddenly seemed to panic, and he continued in a rush, "…They really helped me! They didn't break any rules…not really! It was more advice than an order!"

Iruka waved his hand in front of him and smiled to show that nothing was wrong. "It's alright Naruto. From what you said on the way, I would think that it was a way to keep you from having an easy time…anyway, wasn't the whole idea behind the test to have you disobey orders?"

Naruto calmed down and smiled. He was relived that he didn't get Ayame and Teuchi in trouble.

"That was a great favour you did for Naruto," Iruka said thankfully to the chef and his daughter.

"If I didn't know better…you could be the prime reason why Naruto here passed…" he added in a more playful voice while he messed with Naruto's hair.

Naruto didn't object, even if he was confident that he would have managed even without the food. He was after all an awesome ninja!

Ayame leaned a bit over the counter and got an evil glint in her eye, as she placed a couple of bowls in front of the two customers. She waited until both Iruka and Naruto said their "Itadakimasu!" before she mentioned the little deal she had made on Naruto's behalf.

"You know Iruka-san, it was more of a trade then a favour…sort of," she started. Iruka looked up at her with a cocked eyebrow and a mouth full of ramen.

Teuchi seemed to materialize by his daughter's side, eager to hear what she was trying to find out. Ayame smiled sweetly towards Naruto, who seemed oblivious to the danger he was in.

"He still hasn't told us who the new 'lucky girl' is."

Naruto started coughing with his mouth full, as Iruka swallowed. He looked from Ayame to Naruto and back again. "Lucky girl?" he asked a bit baffled.

Ayame nodded innocently, "Yeah…he was going to tell us last night…but then he seemed to be late for something and he had to rush off. Now however, he seem too have a lot of time to spare."

She said it all with a sweet smile that would unnerve even the most enduring torture victim. It was the smile that a big sister would use when she knew an embarrassing secret about her baby brother, or one a mother would have before the first meeting with her son's girlfriend.

Naruto started to sweat. He was trapped. It was the choice between leaving Ichiraku's Ramen or telling them he had a crush on Hinata...life could be really hard sometimes.

Iruka put his hand to his chin and seemed to remember something. "You know…I think I saw something at the academy yesterday…" he started slowly.

Naruto momentarily panicked. '_What on earth has Iruka seen? I haven't talked to Hinata at all!' _That last thought brought his breathing back under control. He hadn't talked to her, something he was both sad and relieved over. Iruka couldn't know about it.

Ayame's smile grew positively evil, "What did you see Iruka-san?" she asked in the same sugar sweet voice.

Teuchi was now leaning on the counter as well, keen to find out whom the mystery girl could be.

Iruka was oblivious to how it would be for Naruto, so he just started retelling what he'd seen. "Well it was during the team assignment…you see, I noticed that Naruto had turned around in his seat. I think he was looking towards the back row in the classroom…"

Iruka gave Naruto a sideway look, and noted that the boy was looking unfazed, so he continued. "I didn't actually see that much actually, just how they acted."

It was true, Iruka hadn't seen anything really, just some glances and reactions. Naruto's thoughts wandered back to the team assignment. All he'd done was glance back…towards…the back row…where... Naruto's eyes widened as realization dawned. _Iruka-sensei knows!_

"Iruka-sensei!" he pleaded desperately, but it was too late. Iruka was already in 'lecture mode', and any good teacher is able to block out pleading voices that doesn't sound like a question. "…and then I noticed that a girl was pushing her fingers together…"

Ayame was now leaning so much forward, over the counter that Iruka was a bit concerned she would fall over it. "…Yes?" she urged him.

Naruto on the other hand was blushing madly.

"I think he was looking at Hinata…" Iruka said before he noticed that Naruto was blushing madly. He scratched the back of his neck nervously, "I'm sorry Naruto…I thought it was okay."

Ayame on the other hand had become ecstatic. "Hinata? What a beautiful name! What is she like? Is she cute? Is she nice? What is she like Naruto?" she practically demanded in a blizzard of questions.

Naruto was too embarrassed to speak. He wasn't ashamed for liking Hinata, far from it, but the way Ayame was going on just from her name was unnerving him to say the least.

She was asking so many questions that it was impossible to choose which one to answer. And how was he supposed to know what Hinata was like? He'd never really spoken to her in the first place.

Naruto was so busy trying to answer her questions too himself, and being embarrassed in general that he didn't notice exactly when Ayame stopped her interrogation. When he noticed the silence, he looked up at her.

She had a gentle smile on her face and was nowhere near as worked up as before, "It is alright Naruto-kun. You can tell me when you are ready."

With a heartfelt sigh, Naruto thanked her. It was hard to speak of something so new.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun," she said again, "I was a little too forward. I apologize."

"Its okay, Ayame-Oneesan," Naruto replied. "I…I'll tell you another time."

Ayame smiled and nodded. "In your own time Naruto-kun, there is no need to rush it."

Iruka and Teuchi, who had been silently observing the two youths, just smiled. Ayame and Naruto was much like a little brother and an older sister. Ayame would tease Naruto in a good natured way, but never going too far.

With a chuckle, Teuchi patted Ayame on the head. Normally you didn't do stuff like that to a seventeen year old girl, but Ayame let it drop. Her father was only keeping the conversation on a playful level.

Iruka messed with Naruto's hair and apologized again. "I'm sorry Naruto…I didn't know you wanted to keep it a secret."

Naruto swallowed what he had in his mouth before answering. "It's alright Iruka-sensei…it's just so…new," he tried to explain.

"Well, if it means anything, I think she is a very sweet girl," Iruka assured him.

As Ayame walked to the back of the stand to wash some dirty dishes, Teuchi whispered to Naruto, "Don't be mad at Ayame-chan, Naruto. She only wants what best for you."

Naruto smiled and nodded. He wasn't mad at all. "It's okay Ojisan," Naruto reassured him. "I'll tell her when I know the answers to some of her questions."

Teuchi made sure Ayame was nowhere near before he responded. "That's good, because I'll never hear the end of it if you don't."

/

Sarutobi was seated in his office, smoking his pipe. It was a vice, he knew, but it was one that he felt was acceptable at his age. At the moment he was looking over an issue that was causing him to stress, feeling the uncomfortable worry of the unknown.

There were two written reports on his desk, both concerning a little boy that he'd watched grow up.

One of the reports was from his old student, Jiraiya, and he found the topic both concerning and suspicious. Jiraiya was coming home long before he was expected.

That wasn't what caused the concern. Neither was it the supposed mountain of information he was bringing with him, though that was really suspicious.

What worried the elderly Hokage was the message he received about Naruto. Jiraiya wrote that the boy may display unusual behaviour or abilities far above what he should be capable of in the time before he came back.

It was strange to get such messages from Jiraiya, whom had only met the boy a few times in all his life, every time before the boy's third birthday.

What was even more concerning, to Sarutobi at least, was the message that said Naruto may be changed. Jiraiya wrote that he'd mention it so any unusual behaviour on Naruto's part wouldn't be looked upon with too much suspicion and expose the boy to unnecessary suspicion.

Sarutobi could see logic in what Jiraiya had written, what little there was, but to him there were several other reasons for worry. Naruto was like a second grandson. To hear that there might be something wrong with him was like a hammer blow to his chest.

What was worse, Jiraiya also wrote that he shouldn't do anything about it, or confront Naruto about it before he got there to explain the situation. It was just a request, true, but Jiraiya had been very insisting on that point.

Sarutobi wasn't an unreasonable man, never had been, but it was hard to hear that something might be wrong about people you cared about and not doing anything about it…it was difficult.

The other report was from Kakashi. It had arrived late as usual, much to Sarutobi's annoyance. If there were anything wrong with Naruto, and he had to wait until Jiraiya arrived to confront the boy, then he could at least try to observe his exploits from a distance, to see if there was anything to his worries.

What he read in the report confirmed that there was something that was different. Naruto had launched a very skilful attack, found the secret goal of the bell-test before his team-mates and he didn't shout nearly as much as he was expected to.

These were all good changes, but it made the elderly Hokage worry about the cause. How did he change? Why did he change? What did it have to do with Jiraiya?

There were just too many unanswered questions. Not for the first time since the letter arrived Sarutobi felt nauseous. It would take Jiraiya a couple of days…maybe a week to arrive. It would probably feel much, much longer.

Sarutobi removed the pipe from his mouth and looked at it. It wasn't decorated or very expensive. It was just a plain old pipe. Putting it back in his mouth, he decided that he wouldn't go against Jiraiya's request, but that didn't stop him form talking to the boy about other things.

He would have to make time to eat with the boy in the coming days. Now that he was a genin, they should have lots to talk about.

**End Chapter 3.**

Updated: 10/11/09

There, I think I got most of the mistakes I made originally.

Author notes:

It was a short dream, because he didn't have a full nights sleep…and for some strange reason, I got really tired every time I tried to edit it.

The reason for Sasuke's lousy performance is simply the fact that Naruto did better than he did in canon…and the other more important fact, that Naruto imitated Sasuke's original attack from canon, but modified it by using his clones. I just want to make it perfectly clear that I didn't think of that attack myself, so the credit should still go to Kishimoto. I just wanted a less… (irritatingly) simple clone attack, than the 'Naruto Rendan' (which in my opinion is the least imaginative taijutsu move Kishimoto has created so far.

Naruto had already passed in Kakashi's book (not make-out-paradise) when he was tied to the pole. The reason he was tied up was simply that Kakashi wanted to test the other two. I tried to create a simple 'split-and-rule' strategy. He wanted to give the impression of favouring Naruto over the other two, but still keep him at their mercy. The British Empire used it very successfully during the colonial times.

Sasuke's ambition caused Naruto a great deal of trouble in canon, and is still going on, so I think Naruto has a good reason to feel uneasy about it (even if he does not know why yet). So there is the phobia. He's afraid of Sasuke's ambition.

Naruto's thoughts about Kakashi's disadvantage by holding a book are only apparent to him, because he observed the clone fight. It is always easier to spot other's mistakes than your own. Not because he knows more about being a shinobi than in canon.

Sennen Goroshi: A thousand years of pain. / Kawarimi no Jutsu: Substitution technique.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This work is written without permission, for fan purposes only. Naruto and the Naruto world, belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Afterthoughts **

**Chapter 4.**

**First day.**

Naruto was very pleased with himself, not only was he going on his first mission today, but he would also find Mr. Ukki, a potted plant he had just bought, a new home.

Mr. Ukki was a common house plant that didn't need much care. Naruto had bought it as a present because it seemed like an appropriate thing to do for their new teacher. There were no harm in trying to get on his new teacher's good side either, especially after what Kakashi said when team 7 had first met him in the classroom.

Naruto was on his way towards the agreed meeting place. It was not very impressive, just a little used road, with wooden fences on both sides. It was while he was walking that a thought struck him.

The mood his team had been in yesterday, during the test, had been disappointing. They hadn't really argued, just ignored each other. Kakashi had told them that teamwork was the important thing afterwards, but what if they didn't start helping each other out sooner? Would Kakashi stop training them?

He dismissed the thought immediately. Kaka-sensei wouldn't do that. Not now that he had made up his mind. Even so, Naruto didn't want to disappoint his new sensei, so something needed to be done.

Their relationship with each other needed improvement…Badly. He stopped before the street came into view and carefully looked around the corner.

Sasuke and Sakura were already there, seated on an old pipeline that was held off the ground by blocks of cement along the side of the road.

Sasuke were seated with his back resting against the wooden fence, trying his best to ignore Sakura. The girl in question was trying her best to look cute and adorable as she desperately tried to get the genius' attention.

Naruto could not understand how anyone that was able to just ignore such opportunities could call himself a genius.

He backed himself away from the corner so the two would not see him spying. It seemed that not much had changed between the two, it was sort of saddening.

It reminded him of how they had acted while waiting for Kakashi to arrive for the introduction. The wait had been a slow and painfully dull situation. He shuddered at the thought of just sitting there like statues, waiting for the tardy sensei. He was now absolutely positive that although boredom would not kill you, if you got a high enough dosage you might wish it could.

There was no doubt about it. This team, His team, needed his help. The old Hokage had probably seen this and decided that if the team was to survive the trials ahead, they needed his influence.

A fire lit itself in his eyes at the thought of the opportunity. He was going to transform this team into the most optimistic, good natured and fun loving team imaginable! That would show just how much he deserved to be Hokage.

The new goal was clear, but he needed a battle plan. Sasuke seemed to be as social as a rock and Sakura was dangerous when he disrupted her in front of Sasuke. That meant that he needed to tread careful with how he approached the problem.

He sat himself down on the ground and placed Mr. Ukki beside him. He folded his arms over his chest and scowled in concentration. He needed to think it all through methodically, like Iruka-sensei had told them during his classes.

First of all, he needed to get Sakura to stop pummelling him on a regular basis. That meant that he either had to stop acting like himself, which was out of the question, or she needed to get Sasuke's attention.

That was the second problem. Sasuke had shown about as much romantic sense as that of Mr. Ukki and was only half as charming in Naruto's opinion. His interest in Sakura was minimal at best and there had only been a few times where he actually talked to her.

The last time he remembered was the conversation that he overheard on the training grounds, which made him shudder involuntarily. It was bad enough being overlooked by people deliberately, but to have been actually made as though he wasn't there was an absolute horror.

He brushed the memories away and tried to focus on when he has seen his two team-mates talking. Before the incident during the bell test would be during recess, the day before. He remembered them talking, when he spotted them during the lunch break. Sakura had actually talked to him afterwards, even though briefly.

How had that happened? He remembered that he had tried talking to Sasuke whilst he was eating lunch, but they had hardly said anything at all.

Even so, Sakura had somehow gotten the Uchiha talking after that and that had been enough to not only change her attitude for the better, she was actually polite towards him when she left. Granted, he didn't deserve to be beaten then as he was now old enough to understand that girls didn't find worms as 'cool' as he once had. Whatever they had talked about had to be the key; he should try to ask her about it.

Before that though, he needed her to know that he was on her side about Sasuke.

The mental picture of him, urging them to hold hands didn't feel right. He pictured himself in Sasuke's shoes, with Sasuke, as the super funny friend, complimenting Sakura and telling them what an adorable couple they would make. The scene made him scowl. Not only did the scenario feel wrong, it made him look like a creepy person. He needed to conceal what he was doing somehow.

A stray thought of his sensei's book caught his attention. At once, the sketch of a prank started to form on its own and he could not keep a grin of mischief off his face.

No point in rushing things after all. He could be both sneaky and subtle about it, not to mention have some fun with them as well. In the meantime, he was going to bring forth a whole new level of 'uncomfortable situations' on the two…and they would thank him for it…well, they would eventually. Hopefully.

On second thought, it would be for the best if they didn't find out it was him at all.

///////////

Sakura was trying her best to get the attention of her long time crush. It was not an easy job mind you; he was just as talkative now as he had been back in the academy.

However, she was not about to give up. The god's had seen fit to put her on the same team as the handsome Uchiha and she would be damned if she wasted this opportunity.

Leaning forward in what she deemed as a just cute enough way, she fluttered her eyelashes towards the object of her affection. "Do you want to get some ice-cream with me after the mission Sasuke-kun?" she tried in her 'sweet' voice.

There was no reaction.

Smiling shyly and leaning closer, she was about to try again as a voice startled her.

"What have we here?" said the lazy voice of their sensei.

Sakura nearly jumped when he appeared crouching on the fence above them.

Sakura was outraged by his tardiness and a little bit disappointed that she would no longer be alone with Sasuke, but she had the good grace not to shout at her superiors.

Instead, she just fixed a glare at the Jônin and said as serious as she could, "You're late."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and looked up at the sky. "Yes, apparently I am," he said without any trace of regret.

He looked back down at the two genin. "But it seem that I am not the last to arrive," he added with a happy smile. "Where is the noisy one?"

Sakura blinked as her irritation faded. She had nearly forgotten that Naruto was on their team. She had not seen him since they left him tied to the pole the day before. _'Maybe he didn't manage to get himself loose…'_

Before she had time to think any further, the Jônin jumped off the fence and seated himself between the pair without asking. Only quick reflexes saved her from having the grown man landing on her lap.

"Ah, that's better. I guess we just have to wait for him," said Kakashi, stating the obvious, as he pulled out his book and started reading.

Being separated from Sasuke was pushed to the back of her mind by their sensei's conduct. It was not so much that he nearly sat on her; it was the fact that he wedged himself between herself and Sasuke, which were not sitting very far apart at the time. Was it socially acceptable for a grown man, a teacher, to be this close to a newly graduated kunoichi?

She could not see Sasuke's reaction and that bothered her. He was a genius, so he would probably know what to do.

"Ah, to be young again," Kakashi mumbled to himself and started to giggle.

Something in his voice made Sakura want to move away from him, but she was leaning on one of the cement blocks that held the pipe off ground. If she moved around it, she might offend their new teacher. He did seem to have some serious mood swings, as they had witnessed the day before.

Kakashi giggled again and Sakura noticed a blush on his cheek, right over the mask. It was then she noticed the book he was reading and was mortified.

It was marked as adult literature! He was reading porn in front of them! In the open! Giggling!

She was about to move away out of principle when the Jônin suddenly heaved an arm around her shoulder, holding the book right under her nose. "Look at this!" he exclaimed in a high pitched and excited voice.

Sakura screamed and shielded her eyes from the content. He was showing her something in an adult themed book! That was illegal!

"They were alone in the room. Only the light from the street outside illuminated their sweaty…" Kakashi read out loud.

"GET IT AWAY FROM ME! GET IT AWAY!" yelled Sakura desperately, trying her best to push the Jônin away.

Luckily for her, Kakashi got the message and released her. It did not take long at all for him to start giggling to himself again.

Sakura got out off her seat so quickly that one would think she used a Kawarimi no jutsu and forgotten the piece of wood in haste, and pressed herself flat against the fence on the other side of the street.

Kakashi didn't seem bothered by her reaction as he just turned a page to continue reading.

Even in her shocked state she noticed that Sasuke had managed to move himself a few feet away from the reading shinobi and his stoic facial features held an unusual hint of apprehension.

Kakashi didn't seem to even register either of them and just sat there, reading. What kind of responsible adult was he?

"He was lost in her eyes. They held a longing, a lust that had been neglected for…" the Jônin suddenly started reading out loud again with the same high-pitched girlish voice as before.

Sakura's hands clamped over her ears in an effort to keep Kakashi's words out. It was probably not the most graceful solution, but it did the trick.

She could not hear what he was saying, but she noticed that Sasuke's cheeks started to grow red as a blush manifested.

Suddenly, Kakashi stopped reading and lowered his book. His face became sad and he looked up at the sky. He sighed heavily and looked from Sasuke to Sakura. "All those missed chances…"

Sakura was not over what he had done just moments ago, that was impossible, but somehow, the mood had changed. She was careful when she lowered her arms, ready to bring them back into play at the slightest hint of anything perverted.

"You two don't know how lucky you are," Kakashi went on. He looked over at Sasuke with sad eyes. "I was just like you, you know."

Sasuke's eyebrow raised itself half an inch as his blush retreated off his face. To Sakura, it was clear that something of what Kakashi had said meant something to the genius. What that was, eluded her.

Sakura didn't like the way their sensei was changing so fast and so often. She was therefore rather cautious when the Jônin got up on his feet and walked slowly to the middle of the road. He stopped right in between them and looked from the one to the other, as if he was trying to decide on something.

He settled his eye on Sasuke and spoke in a firm voice. "You are wasting your existence the way you are now."

Sakura watched how Kakashi's words hardened Sasuke's eyes. Suddenly she became seriously worried that her crush would charge the Jônin again, like he did the day before. Her fear was unfounded however, as the Uchiha calmed himself with a deep breath and settled for a defiant glare.

Kakashi didn't seem to care about Sasuke's reaction and just continued talking. "Being in the position you are in! Having the opportunities that you have! You are steadily destroying yourself more then you realize!"

Sasuke's jaw tightened, as did his fists. Sakura didn't like where this was going at all. Was their new sensei intentionally trying to make her Sasuke-kun mad?

The Jônin's next words though, hit her with the effect of a cold shower. "Don't you know that there will only be less and less girls as you grow older?!"

There was complete silence. Sakura could not believe what she just heard. From the way Sasuke's eyes suddenly looked lost, she would judge that he felt the same.

"There are girls around you all day, just asking for a little attention! How can you ever expect to grow if you don't take any interest in what is offered to you?" The Jônin continued, not noticing the shocked reaction of his students. "Love is the ultimate adventure that only the most foolish choose to ignore! How can you call yourself a genius if you don't even know that much?"

Sakura could only stare. Was the pervert lecturing Sasuke about love? The man who read porn out loud to minors without a second thought? The thought was ludicrous, but even so, there he was, trying lecture the hottest genin in the village about what love was.

Kakashi held out his book towards Sasuke in shaky hands. "Before you know it, the girls will be gone!" he shouted in a desperate voice. "They will have moved on and left you behind! There will be no more girls around you and you won't even know how to ask them out because you never did!"

Sakura was now really scared. Was the Jônin having a nervous breakdown? Why was he talking about girls in the first place?

Sasuke looked just as uncomfortable. He actually had his hands out of his pocket and was trying to edge away. Kakashi was walking slowly towards the retreating genin, still holding the book out in front of him for Sasuke to see.

"In the end you will turn to the only thing that remind you of what you once had!" he was now pointing at the book. "It will intrigue and welcome you! It will swallow you whole! In the end, it is the only thing you know!"

Kakashi's eye had gone all teary and his voice raw and emotional. "Be aware of this Sasuke! You may end up just like me!"

Sasuke seemed almost frightened at the prospect. Sakura didn't know if it was Kakashi's words or the way he was acting that frightened him, as both things were scaring her. Why was their sensei being so mean to Sasuke? Why did he have to talk to him about girls? Sasuke was supposed to be hers!

A chuckle from above caught the trio's attention.

Sitting on the fence above Sasuke, was Kakashi. The one that was shouting at Sasuke suddenly seemed both nervous and uncomfortable. A moment of silence followed, and then the dots connected.

Sakura exploded, "NARUTO!"

The nervous Kakashi visibly paled and without a word, bolted down the street in a full out sprint, cradling the book to his chest, as if it was vital that it should not come to harm.

Sakura let automatic reflexes kick in. After years of exposure to the class clown, she and several of her love rivals had developed a reflex to chase down Naruto whenever there was something he did that annoyed them. It was a trait she also shared with several chuunin and ANBU around the village.

An amused Kakashi looked on with interest as two of his students disappeared around a corner at an impressive speed. This teaching position was looking more and more promising every day.

He noted out of the corner of his eye that Sasuke shifted his position a little to hide a frown behind his t-shirt's high collar. It would seem that even the genius was fooled by Naruto's Henge, however he was determined not to let it show.

"So, what did I miss?" inquired the Jônin as he pulled out his own book to catch up on his reading while he had the chance.

Sasuke unconsciously edged away from Kakashi but didn't answer with anything more than a grunt.

Kakashi was not surprised and let it drop. He had only caught the end of Naruto's prank, but what he had seen hit too close for comfort. That was why he had decided to intervene when he did. Without anything more to add or ask about, they just sat there in silence.

Luckily, they did not have to wait for it to become even more uncomfortable since Naruto appeared around a different corner, still fleeing from a raging Sakura.

He had reverted back to his own appearance and looked more scared now than he had before. Apparently, he had picked up some sort of plant in his path and was now holding on to it for dear life. Sakura was only a second behind and closing.

As it was, she managed to trip the fleeing prankster almost right in front of the two spectators and proceeded to pound away her frustration. The violent display surprised Kakashi a little, but he did not intervene. Similar situations had occurred often during his childhood…usually towards others.

Looking at it now, he concluded that he had been lucky to adopt his goofy attitude later in life and didn't have to go through all the apparent side effects like Naruto was experiencing.

"…Don't you think that is a bit much Sakura?" Kakashi carefully asked after another minute.

Sakura hesitantly stopped hitting Naruto and moved away. She still seemed embarrassed, but it was impossible to say if it was from what Naruto did or if it was from her own violent actions.

Strangely enough, Naruto did not seem all that bothered. He looked like he was in pain, after such a beating it would be strange if he wasn't, but he displayed no anger or resentment at all as he slowly got to his feet.

He carefully lifted the plant, that had by some miracle survived the ordeal and held it out to Kakashi with a bright smile. "This is for you sensei."

Kakashi was a little surprised, as it was not that normal to give presents to your sensei anymore. He was careful not to let his surprise show though, so he just stared at the boy for a moment, privately wondering what he should do.

The moment dragged on into a really uncomfortable silence. It wasn't until Naruto started sweating out of nervousness did Kakashi react. The Jônin suddenly smiled brightly and accepted the gift he was offered as if there was never a pause in the first place. "Why, thank you Naruto-kun. This is a pleasant surprise."

Naruto handed Mr. Ukki over to Kakashi with a relieved sigh.

//////////

Sarutobi was working on, in his opinion, one of the least interesting and yet also one of the most important duties he had as Hokage, mission assigning.

In his years as the village leader, he had come to dislike this task. It was one thing to assign every mission he had used most of the morning preparing, but to having to listen to genin grumble and complain about it was also taxing.

Today however, there was one genin that he was looking forward to meet and that genin was standing right in front of him. The boy was dressed in much the same clothes as he was a couple of days ago, although he was a bit dustier now than the last time he saw him. The dirt on his clothes actually made him look more like himself, than when they were clean.

He was standing there with a bright smile, but his team was looking a little bit…uncomfortable. It was hardly unusual for genin to be a bit apprehensive on their first day as a working ninja, but Sarutobi couldn't help but notice that they seemed more uncomfortable around each other than anything else.

It seemed as if the girl was trying to avoid the gaze of the young Uchiha. This was unusual because it was known to him that she had always tried to get his attention at the academy. Then again, this change in behaviour was not that strange, rocks and bumps were to be expected in the emotional road of the young.

Uchiha Sasuke's behaviour was also slightly off, but it was of much greater interest to the Hokage. The young boy was consciously avoiding eye contact, as he normally did, however there was much more visible effort than usual. It was as if he was desperately trying to suppress a need to look at the others from the corner of his eye, as if he wanted to confirm something, yet he didn't dare to look out of fear that the others would see him take an interest.

Sarutobi didn't show it, but inwardly he was smiling from ear to ear. Sasuke's behaviour was exactly what he had always hoped for. He was actually acting his own age and if he were not much mistaken, he was seeing him take interest in somethingmore than just being an avenger. For the boy's sake, he could only hope.

"Team seven reporting," announced Kakashi casually, snapping a grateful Sarutobi back to reality. The Jônin didn't seem uncomfortable at all, if anything, he looked even happier than he had the day before when he confirmed that he had actually let a team pass his test.

His reaction to Kakashi's words must have been obvious, because Naruto happily chipped in "Getting old ojisan? When are you going to leave me in charge?"

The comment only served to reassure Sarutobi and he almost chuckled at the boy's comment. It was exactly what he would expect from Naruto in this situation and the reassurance made his worry fade into obscurity. He also had to suppress a smirk as he picked up the assigned mission scroll. He could already imagine how quickly Naruto's smug smile would disappear once he knew what his mission would be.

"Here's your mission Kakashi-san," he said as he handed the scroll over to the masked Jônin, pointedly ignoring Naruto's comment.

Kakashi opened the seal on the spot as he would usually do. Some would find his action disrespectful, but Sarutobi knew that Kakashi never meant anything by it.

"Hmm, looks like we got lucky," he said as he re-rolled the scroll.

"Really!" Naruto asked excitedly.

A small smile crept onto Sarutobi's lips. Kakashi seemed to have gotten the same idea.

"Yes, we are to escort and guard a group of very important tracking specialists as they do their business," Kakashi answered with mock seriousness.

Naruto's excitement was rather impressive. Mouth open in a silent cheer, arms trembling with excitement and his eyes looked as if he had just spotted the biggest bowl of ramen in the world. It looked like he was about to go into shock from joy as he barely managed to keep himself silent. That was, until Kakashi revealed the true nature of the mission.

With an exited voice and a bright smile he turned towards his assembled genins and said, "We're going to walk the shinobi dogs!"

There was a moment of silence.

"Walking dogs?" Naruto asked in disbelief. He had thought shinobi lived exiting lives, fighting and spying and such. Now they were ordered to walk some dogs? "Why would ninja be hired to walk dogs!?"

Sarutobi stopped himself from smiling at Naruto's reaction. He should have been quietly disappointed at how immature Naruto was handling the news about D-rank missions, but after last night's letter from Jiraiya, it was almost a relief.

Before the elderly Hokage had time to answer, Haruno Sakura hit Naruto hard on the head. "Quiet! Show some respect!"

Kakashi gave the Hokage an apologetic smile and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, stopping whatever protest Naruto cared to offer.

"Yes, walking dogs. It is very important work Naruto," Sarutobi patiently explained. "Their kennels need cleaning and there is another team that will be handling that task…but if you would rather have that assignment, I don't think there would be any trouble." the elderly man added as innocently as he could.

It was fun to see Naruto go pale at the thought. Kakashi also seemed to have some difficulty not laughing at his genin's obvious horror. Kakashi composed himself before saying anything though. "Well, walking the dogs sound's fine to me."

He lazily, but firmly directed Naruto out the door to start the mission. Sakura and Sasuke both bowed respectfully before following their teacher and team-mate out the door.

Sarutobi kept his eye on the door as it closed. His encounter with Naruto had not answered any questions, which should have bother him, but then again, it had not raised any either. Even if seeing the blond had not answered anything, it had eased his worries. There was nothing wrong with him that he could see and the tension of worry that had plagued him all night eased. Indeed, the Hokage had been so relieved that it was not until a polite cough brought him back to his senses that he remembered where he was.

Yuuhi Kurenai stood before him with her team, "Team eight reporting, Hokage-sama," she reported as if nothing had happened. Only a slight movement of her jaw betrayed her curiousness over finding the Hokage in such a detached state. As good a genjutsu mistress as she was, she still possessed a curious habit of biting the inside of her mouth when there were something she wanted to know. A trait that had made her Anko's best friend and she was constantly being invited to play cards with her. The poor woman probably had no idea.

Sarutobi smiled at the newly promoted Jônin. He was embarrassed from being caught spacing out like that, but years in the job had made him an expert on excuses. "Just the caffeine losing its effect Kurenai-chan," Sarutobi reassured her in his grandfatherly voice that got him out of almost any trouble, except with his wife.

Kurenai only nodded in reply, but her smile told him that she accepted his explanation, probably as an excuse for getting old.

//////////////

After the mission was done:

The genin were dirty and tired after reporting their mission result at the Hokage tower. The Hokage had not been there, but even a genin would have been able to stamp the mission as approved by the client, so the chuunin behind the desk had managed it with ease.

Kakashi was walking a step behind them, reading his novel. It was strange that he did not get mad at Naruto at all during the mission. He had nearly gotten them to fail when he had let the dog do almost anything it wanted. This was involuntary on Naruto's part, as the dog was both large and strong enough to drag him protesting through mud, sand and over several fences throughout the village.

"Well, this has been an eventful day. We will meet at same time and place tomorrow, okay?" Kakashi said suddenly, snapping the genins out of their own little worlds.

Naruto turned around to protest, but he was already gone. "Crap! I thought we were supposed to train now!" he whined.

Sakura made an annoyed sigh at the energy Naruto showed. She was tired and dirty, and that was a prime concern when you were supposed to charm someone with your stunning beauty.

"Stop complaining Naruto. Kakashi-sensei probably thinks we should take it easy after the mission…and you were dead beat a moment ago," she told him, but Naruto was too fired up to listen to reason.

"But I'm ready to train now! I mean, that dog did most of the dragging anyway, so why would I be tired?"

The image of Naruto being dragged around the street by the large dog, struggling hard to get it to stop and change direction, came to mind. It had seemed like a fairly exhausting job to her, but Naruto was like a little annoying brat, bundles of energy that only served to make him even more annoying.

"Fine, be that way," she sighed and shook her head.

"If we're done, I'm going home," Sasuke stated suddenly and started to walk off in another direction.

Naruto, getting a new idea, shouted after him. "Hey teme, do you want to train?"

Sasuke stopped for a minute and looked over his shoulder. "Why would I want to train with someone like you?"

Naruto frowned, that was an insult, and as always he felt his temper flare. Shaking it off, he responded "Why wouldn't you?"

It was better than the last answer he had given, it didn't even sound that childish. Never mind that it was actually just another question.

Sasuke didn't respond. He just grunted, shook his head and walked away.

Sakura looked unsure of what to do for a second, but as always, she defended Sasuke with a passion. "He doesn't want to train with you because he doesn't need to train. Sasuke-kun is the best."

With that, she jogged after the Uchiha, and Naruto could hear her give her own suggestions about what they could do. "Hey Sasuke-kun? Do you want to get some ice cream with me?"

He missed Sasuke's reply, but he must have said something, because Sakura kept following him asking him something else that he didn't hear.

It was not very pleasant to have both team-mates walk out on him, but he was still unable to be mad at them. Sasuke and Sakura may have been unfriendly towards him, but so was the rest of the village. Not to mention, this was only their first day, they would warm up eventually.

Personally, Naruto could not even fathom what she saw in Sasuke…then again…he could not really say why he didn't hate him anymore either. The teme probably had high charisma or some other unfair advantage for getting people to like him. He toyed with the idea of asking what his secret was, but that would be really pathetic. In any case, he had more important things to think about.

Kakashi had left them way too early, and Naruto wanted to train. He could, of course, go home and train on his own like he always did, but that was no fun…and since the other two didn't want to train with him, he decided that he needed to find Kakashi.

How he would go about it was another matter. The Jônin hadn't left any clue to where he lived or what he did when he wasn't with them. It was annoying to realize how little he really knew about their new sensei and even worse to find out how little he actually had said about himself when they were introduced.

Thinking back, there was only one thing he had told about himself, other than his name and how little he wanted them to know. He had said, "_…I have lots of hobbies…"_ and that was a clue if ever there was one. Maybe it was a test, like the day before, when they had left him tied to the pole?

Naruto could not help but grin at his own insight. This was probably how geniuses thought all the time. Now all he needed to do was to find out what Kakashi's hobbies really were and he would have tracked him down.

What would a white haired, masked man do on his time off? Many weird images materialized in Naruto's mind. He saw Kakashi taking dancing lessons, skipping rope, reading poems, dressing up as a clown, and so on. The possibilities were endless.

After a short debate with himself, he decided to start with the most popular pastimes he could think of. Looking for their sensei in the theatre groups would just have to wait. The thought of Kakashi on stage with makeup and/or a clown costume would have been fun to see, but probably not likely.

Grownups liked different things, and Kakashi didn't seem like much of a sportsman, so he headed for the few places in the village where one would be able to gamble. With that mask on, he would be one hell of a card player.

/////////

Much searching later, Naruto was back where he started. He had taken a tour of nearly every pastime activity in the village, looking for his sensei. He had visited every hobby-shop, gambling den, public park, theatre and bookstore in Konoha…and the only place that Kakashi seemed to visit was a bookstore…an adult bookstore.

What was even worse, they didn't know where the man lived or where he would be. The frustration of the hunt had taken its toll on Naruto in the form of growing irritation and a strange longing to set fire to the book Kakashi had been reading. He was also exhausted after running around half the village, only to finally realize that he could have used clones to search the different areas at the same time.

All because Kakashi had neglected to tell them how they could contact him. It was rude of him to not tell anything about himself, but it was even worse that what he had said was a lie.

He didn't have lots of hobbies, he had just one, and that was only for people over eighteen. What sort of person didn't do anything else then read porn on his time off?

Another realisation came to mind. Kakashi was not reading on his time off, he was reading when he should be working! Naruto scowled. Their sensei was a serious pervert. In other words, he was probably a genius like himself.

What would a genius do in this situation? The only thing he could think of was to ask questions. The only problem was that he had already done that…and not one shop keeper had known anything about the Cyclops ninja.

After a few agonizing minutes trying to come up with something intelligent to do in his hunt, he only came up with one possibility of finding him.

Naruto smiled. There was at least one person in the village that was better than Kakashi at being a ninja, even if he were an old goat…and he would probably like an excuse to escape the paperwork for a little while.

With a new idea formed, he took off towards the Hokage tower as fast as his legs were able to carry him.

////////////

Sarutobi was seated by a large canvas in his study, trying to focus on a new design for a chakra conducting seal. However, today he was fighting a losing battle. The form of the seal seemed all wrong on the canvas before him, and his attention always seemed to drift back onto the letter that he had placed aside for later reading.

The boy seemed perfectly normal this morning, but still, there seemed like something was different. After another carefully placed line on the canvas he sighed at his own thoughts. At least he seemed to be happy with his new team, something that eased the uncertainty to some extent.

It had been a long time since Sarutobi had been so impatient and worried about anything, like he was at the moment. It was the knowledge that the answer was so close that got to him. If it had been more elusive and not right under his nose, he would have been much quicker to accept the fact that he needed to be patient about it.

He tried again to focus on the seal. The shape would be simple, like a narrowing funnel, with several chakra channels leading from the user, who would focus and concentrate the chakra, so it could be more easily applied during precise surgery.

He was about to apply another section when he heard a familiar voice from the hallway.

"Let me in, I need to ask Ojisan about something!"

There was a muffled response that he could not hear clearly, as the chuunin at the door didn't feel the need to shout like the newcomer. Not long after that the door opened and a face that matched the voice appeared.

"Hey Ojisan!" called a red faced Naruto as he entered the room. He was breathing heavily and the dust on his sandals indicated that he had been either shuffling his feet along the ground, or he had done a fair share of fast, sharp turns around the dusty village roads.

Sarutobi could not stop the smile that crept upon his face when he heard Naruto address him in his familiar way. "Hello Naruto-kun, what is it you want to ask me?"

A bewildered expression appeared on Naruto's face. "Huh? How did you know I wanted to ask you about something?"

'_Seems pretty ordinary so far'_ Sarutobi thought as he shook his head at Naruto's reaction. "The door is not that thick."

"What does the door have to do with anything?" inquired Naruto, still clueless.

Sarutobi shook his head again, happy that Naruto acted so like himself. "You were a little loud."

"I was?"

"Yes, but that is alright," sighed the Hokage. "Was there anything you wanted?" Sarutobi noted that Naruto's breathing was back to normal; as if he just forgot that he had been tired a moment ago. The boy had an amazing endurance…it was one of Naruto's most impressive and useful abilities that would serve him well as a shinobi.

It took Naruto a second before remembering his reason for being there. "I'm trying to find Kaka-sensei! He ran away before he could help us practise!"

'_He's trying to find Kakashi? Is that all?'_ "He wasn't at his home?"

"I don't know where he lives."

'_He doesn't know where his sensei lives?'_ thought Sarutobi a little surprised. It was important that student's could reach their master if they needed to. "Didn't he tell you where to get hold of him?"

"No, he said it was none of our business," complained Naruto, "The only thing he told us was that he has a lot of hobbies!"

'_Kakashi has hobbies?'_ This was the first time Sarutobi had ever heard anything about Kakashi having anything productive to do outside work. "What hobbies does he have?"

Naruto frowned, "None specific. He just said he had a lot of hobbies."

'_Ah, that explains it'_ the elderly Hokage thought with a sigh. "Let me guess…you ran all over town looking for hobbies he could have had didn't you?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"An educated guess…" Sarutobi responded calmly, though mentally he added, '_You looked about ready pass out when you arrived.'_

"Oh…do you know where he is?"

Sarutobi leaned backwards to straighten his spine as he thought it over. "If I'm not mistaken, he should be at the training field about now, the one you used yesterday."

Another puzzled expression appeared on Naruto's face. "Huh? Why would he train without us?"

"It is where he goes to think," Sarutobi answered patiently.

"Why?"

Sarutobi was not sure how he should explain it, or even if it was his place to do so. After a pause he decided that Naruto needed to find the answer for himself. "Did he tell you about the stone?"

"Yeah…oh," Naruto's expression turned from a growing frown to sad understanding in an instant. Sarutobi was impressed that Naruto had understood as fast as he did. Naruto may have been the focus of much anger and resentment in the village, but he had never experienced loss of life before. It pleased the old Hokage that the boy was able to see the significance of lost comrades that fast. Kakashi must really have driven that point home during the test.

"Don't feel bad for something that happened that long ago Naruto. It is better to let people live in the 'now' then to remind them of past tragedies," the old Hokage said kindly to bring Naruto out of the gloomy mood he had fallen into.

Naruto seemed a little hesitant, but he nodded and tried to smile. "Ok…so he'll be there?"

Seeing that Naruto was about ready to bold out the door towards the training field, Sarutobi decided that he would no longer beat around the bush and asked him bluntly, "Yes, but before you go, how are you feeling?"

Naruto looked surprised at the question, '_Huh? He hasn't asked me that since I moved into my apartment'_. "I'm fine."

Sarutobi felt as if he was disgracing everything a shinobi stood for with his blunt question, but he needed to know for sure "Nothing out of the ordinary?"

Like Sarutobi had guessed, Naruto seemed more interested in getting to the training field then he was in the direction the conversation was going and he just answered "Nothing I can think about."

Sarutobi knew that he had taken the wrong approach when questioning the boy. He had no idea he was being questioned of course, even if it was obvious, and probably thought it was just an old man's concerns. The trouble was that he was impatient to get out training and would probably just shrug of anything that could be bothering him in his haste of getting out.

"I'm glad," Sarutobi said in his grandfatherly voice and nodded to Naruto, silently answering the boy's equally silent plea to get going. The subtle answer was not lost on the blond and he took off with a huge grin on his face.

Sarutobi sat and stared at the door where the boy had departed. That was the second time that day when Naruto had failed to provide any answers at all. But even so, the fact that other than the clothes and the way he had fastened his hitai-ite around his neck and not on his head, he had yet to raise a single question.

It occurred to him that there was the possibility of Jiraiya's letter might have been misleading in some way. Maybe the self-proclaimed super pervert had done a mistake when typing the letter, possible trying for some new fancy style.

It was nothing solid, but the thought enabled Sarutobi to brush the worries over Naruto away as a simple writing error. It wasn't completely convincing, but it was enough to make the elderly Hokage feel foolish…but happy.

/////////

"I….I finally…finally found you!" shouted Naruto with his last breath as he staggered onto the training field from the day before. His frantic search had worn him out even before he had thought to ask the Hokage. His direct dash to the training ground had all but left him breathless.

Kakashi was standing in front of the memorial stone, where Mr. Ukki was placed, and didn't seem at all surprised by Naruto's appearance.

In truth, he was very surprised, but as before he did not let it show. The following silence was luckily lost on Naruto who was busy trying to regain his breath.

"You…you left too soon, Kaka-sensei!" Naruto managed to gasped when he was sure that talking would not make him pass out.

"I did?" Kakashi asked as innocently as he could.

"Yeah, we didn't train."

Kakashi was silent for a few moments before responding. "We didn't?" Kakashi was not really in the mood to start training. He had actually hoped that their first mission would wear the children down enough so he could have a quiet evening in peace.

"No, we didn't!"

"Are you sure?"

Naruto found his sensei's answers annoying and didn't even attempt to hide the tone of his voice. "…Yes. I'm sure"

Kakashi had no visible reaction for about five seconds and just looked at Naruto with the same half-interested expression. It usually helped make people feel stupid, as if they had missed something important. It was the expression Kakashi used when he was thinking of excuses.

"What have you done today?" he finally asked in the same innocent voice as before.

Naruto huffed in annoyance. "What kind of question is that?"

"An easy one I hope," Kakashi answered without a trace of sarcasm.

A few seconds glaring followed until Naruto gave up and sighed in defeat. He then proceeded to summarise his day. After all, if he started to answer his sensei's questions, maybe he would get some answers in return. "…I tried to help my team-mates by breaking the ice, we did a really boring mission and then I had to run all over village looking for you."

After he was done, Kakashi broke out his most visible smile "Sounds like a work-out to me…"

"What?"

Having formed a somewhat good excuse, Kakashi proceeded with what he hoped would be a short lecture. "Managing to track me down is not something anyone can do, you should feel proud to have done so."

Naruto was silent for a few seconds as he debated with himself about telling the truth. His sensei was giving him praise for finding him, actually praising him for a job well done. It made him feel both happy and somewhat hollow at the same time. In the end he had to turn to the Hokage for help, so in all honesty, he didn't deserve the praise. On the other hand, he was actually getting recognition from his sensei. It was rare enough at the academy.

In the end though, he had to swallow the urge to take the undeserved praise as the guilt won. "I had to ask Oji-san!"

Kakashi had to pause again as his plans for an easy escape seemed to disappear from under his feet. "You did run all over town though, you must be exhausted. Maybe we should train another time…" he tried hopefully.

Sadly, for Kakashi, Naruto didn't seem the least bit tired anymore and as the characteristic grin spread over the boys face, the Jônin's heart sank. "I'm not tired at all!"

If the movement wouldn't have given him away, Kakashi would have covered his eyes with his hand to hide his coming frown. _'Shoot. Maybe I can give him something he can work on by himself, and then he might leave me alone'._

"Ok, I think I have a good training exercise for you."

"Really!?" Naruto brightened up at once on the mention of 'training exercise'. This was it, his first one on one instructed training regime.

"Yes, for real," responded Kakashi with a smile, he himself congratulating himself for such a good plan.

"What is it?! What is it!?" Naruto asked excitedly. He could almost feel that he was about to learn something for real this time. Probably some cool offensive Jutsu, preferably with explosions.

Kakashi however knew better than that, "Tree climbing."

Naruto's excitement died instantly. "I know how to climb trees!"

Not the least bit surprised by Naruto's negative reaction, Kakashi proceeded with the revelation that usually hit the spot, "Without using your hands?"

Naruto's next reaction caught him by surprise though. Folding his hands over his chest and a disappointed expression Naruto answered him with a simple "Yes."

Kakashi was momentarily lost for words. It was not because the boy said he could do it, but he had counted on his plan working out so he could get back to the important things in life, like reading porn. Trying hard to think of what to do next, he automatically asked "You do?"

"Yes! The closet pervert taught me!"

The Jônin had to blink a little at that. "…Closet pervert?"

"Yes!" answered Naruto, as the question of who the supposed closet pervert would be was lost on him.

A long lost teacher instinct alerted Kakashi to the possibility of Naruto lying to get him to teach him something 'cooler'. After all, the boy had shown good use of deception the day before.

"Can you show me?"

"He's not here!" Naruto answered with a scowl. He was starting to think that his sensei was making fun of him.

Kakashi had to hold back the sigh that every teacher at the academy eventually had developed. "I meant the tree climbing."

The realization finally dawned on Naruto that he actually had to show what he was preaching. His expression was only unsure for half a second before his grin spread itself and radiated confidence "Yeah, sure."

He walked over to a nearby tree, trying desperately not to think of the fact that he had yet to get it completely right. He bought a few more seconds with pointing out what tree he intended to run up, but it was just useless staling. He didn't like to admit it, but he was getting more and more nervous. His new sensei, who had been impressed with him a few minutes ago, was going to observe him. If he failed, would his sensei get angry? Disappointed?

With these thoughts, he ran for the tree. His speed was good and his angle was just like Ebisu had instructed, but when his foot connected the bark split from the pressure of his chakra, but also making his foot stick to the tree, thus making the boy collide with his own knee. The collision nearly knocked the air from Naruto's lungs and he fell rather ungracefully on his butt.

Kakashi watched on with interest and a not too smug expression that said 'I knew it'. "Are you alright?" he asked just to be sure as Naruto crawled back to his feet. "Do you want to try again?"

Kakashi's last sentence stopped every negative thought Naruto had during his failed attempt. His new sensei was not angry or disappointed with his failure. He wanted him to try again.

Naruto responded with a nod and a thumb up, which strangely enough made Kakashi shudder.

With new determination, Naruto rushed at the tree. Chakra flowed through his feet and before he knew it, he was running straight up the trunk as if he had done it all his life. He only stopped when he reached the highest branch that he could stand on. Then he turned and flashed the toothiest grin he had shown since he became a genin. "There! Now you believe me!?"

"Very impressive Naruto-kun," Kakashi said with an approving smile. Silently, he was very impressed. Not many people could do this right after graduation.

"Can you teach me something else?" shouted Naruto as he jumped down onto the ground in front of the Jônin.

'_Damn, I promised him. What else can I show him to do on his own?'_ thought Kakashi as it dawned on him that they had a deal.

He made a show of trying to think of an appropriate exercise. After what seemed like ages to Naruto, he said "Do you know how to smell?"

Naruto looked at Kakashi as if he had just told the worst joke in history. "Of course I know how to smell! I have a nose don't I?"

The Jônin bent down, as if to look closely at Naruto's face. "Yes, it seems to be in the right place," he said before he straightened up and continued, "but do you know how to track by scent?"

Naruto frowned and said "Of course!"

"You do?" Kakashi asked surprised.

"Yeah! You get a dog, give it the scent and follow!"

"Of course, but do you know how to do it without the dog?" Kakashi inquired patiently, silently face palming himself for not seeing Naruto's answer coming.

Naruto's frown changed instantly into curiosity "Huh?"

"I take it that you don't."

Thinking it an insult, Naruto didn't hesitate to protest. "I can! It'll probably take time, but I can do it!"

Kakashi made a mental note that Naruto didn't like to be underestimated. "…what if you didn't have the time?"

Naruto turned his face away in an effort to hide a scowl and muttered under his breath, "Probably wouldn't be able to…"

"What if I showed you how?"

Instantly, Naruto got exited again. Blue eyes, wide in anticipation and a brilliant smile was again on his face. "You would? Kaka-sensei, you're awesome!"

'_He practically demanded that I train him a moment ago, now he is surprised that I agreed to?' _Kakashi thought a little unsurely. It was getting more and more evident that he didn't know that much about children. This was due to never having been much of one himself. "Sure Naruto-kun."

Kakashi held up a hand to stop Naruto's cheering. "Ok, the first thing you need to do is to channel chakra to your nose…" Kakashi started. Naruto, in his hurry to learn something new didn't wait for Kakashi to finish, as he clapped his hands together to gather his chakra.

Doing that, he didn't hear what Kakashi said next, "…do this carefully, because a too large dosage will damage your nose so you will not be able to smell anything for at least a couple of days."

Naruto didn't hear it, and gathered way too much chakra in his nose while Kakashi explained. Naruto exclaimed "Gah!" as blood suddenly shot out of his nose.

'_Reckless! Is he okay?'_Kakashi thought as he saw the stream of blood. "Are you alright?"

"Didn't hurt a bit!" said Naruto as he tried to sniff the blood back in. "I'll try again and get it right!"

"Didn't you hear me? You won't be able to smell anything for at least a day," Kakashi tried to explain. There was a hint of worry in his voice.

"What are you talking about Kaka-sensei? I can smell just fine," protested Naruto. The bleeding had already stopped.

'_What? Is he really able to smell or are he just playing it tough?',_ "Really?"

Kakashi looked around before picking up a flower a couple of feet away. He held it under Naruto's nose. "Can you sell this?"

Naruto recoiled in disgust and pinched his nose to stop himself from smelling more of it. "Yuck, that smells horrible Kaka-sensei!"

'_He is really able to smell it. His sense of smell should be burnt out and would take at least a day to heal properly…is this the work of the fox?_' "Sorry, just wanted to be sure."

Naruto frowned and muttered under his breath, "Could have used a better smelling flower…"

Kakashi didn't answer him and just explained again what he needed to do. "Listen, you need to use less chakra to do this. Try raising the amount, slowly."

Naruto tried again, slowly building his chakra level, but his nose started bleeding after only a couple of seconds, "Damn!"

Kakashi regarded Naruto for a few seconds more, and took note that the bleeding stopped almost as soon as it started. "Just continue practising like that ok. We'll see how it is in a few days." With that, he weaved the necessary hand-seals and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Hey, wait!" shouted Naruto, too late to stop his sensei. '_There he goes again. At least he gave me something to do this time.'_

/////////////////

It was getting late when Naruto finally started to get some results from his training. The problem was finding the exact amount of chakra needed. Too little didn't do anything other than making his nose close up, too much made his nose bleed. In his trial and error, he switched between smelling nothing at all, to shooting blood out of his nose in a way that reminded him way too much of the Closet pervert's reaction to his Oiroke no Jutsu.

Even so, he was making progress. When he finally managed to hold the right amount of chakra for a short period of time, he noticed how different everything smelled. The water in the river nearby smelled fresh and somewhat mossy. The ground smelled much heavier then he would have imagined and the air carried the distinct aroma of flowers in blossom.

He didn't get a complete picture of anything though, as he only got to experience it a little bit at a time.

There was something he recognised as more people related among the scents though. It was something that felt very familiar, but also very out of place out in the woods.

As he tried channelling his chakra again, he tried to pinpoint what it was he smelt. It was there, but only for a second, before it disappeared. It re-appeared again just as he lost the right amount chakra again and the sensation was lost.

The smell felt both fresh and moist, but it also carried a faint aroma of what he thought to be rice and fish…a lunch or dinner perhaps.

The smell was far too weak to be an open meal though, so a picnic was out of the question. After a couple of more samples of the strange scent he started more about 'why' he smelt whatever it was, and not so much 'what' it was.

It took him a moment to realize that it was someone's breathe. With the realization his eyes shot open and he looked around hurriedly. Was there someone spying on him?

"Is somebody there!?" he yelled and regretted it immediately. He had warned whoever was looking at him that he was on to them.

He waited a couple more seconds, but no reply came. He didn't really think there would be a reply, but he kept himself silent nevertheless. If he were lucky, whoever was spying on him might make a mistake and give away his location.

He waited for about thirty seconds or so, but no sound came. Wanting to locate his spy, he carefully gathered chakra to his nose again and tried to locate the scent. He didn't find it right away, but a short, hurried release of breath gave away his observers general direction.

He turned quickly in the direction he had found and shouted automatically "Aha!" with a confident and cocky grin plastered on his face, as if he were finally allowed to play hide and seek with someone from his class.

A short rustle of leaves was all he really saw of the spy, but it was enough to confirm the direction, so he ran as fast as he could towards the moving bush. There was nothing in the bush in question, as the spy had already fled the scene. However, a trail of disturbed branches marked the direction the spy had fled, so he quickly gave chase, intending to find out who the spy was.

Running as fast as he could, he tried to catch up with the spy, but it was harder then he thought it would be. Even at top speed, it was evident that the spy was getting away. Only the fact that he was moving as fast as he could, allowed Naruto to follow the spy's fading trail. Branches and leaves would stop moving and that would be the end of the chase, so he kept moving as fast as he could.

It was irritating to find out that whoever the spy was, he was far faster then he himself was. As the branches moved less and less, Naruto deducted that the spy was getting away. If the chase had been among the giant trees that dominated much of fire country, there was no doubt in Naruto's mind that the spy would already have lost him.

The chase didn't last all that long either, as he suddenly found himself by the entrance to the village with no sign of the spy. There were no moving branches to follow here, no disturbed leaves. It was a hard thing to do, but Naruto had to admit defeat. Whoever it had been, he had been good.

After a moment, Naruto got a brilliant idea. With a cocky grin, he gathered chakra to his nose once more…and instantly regretted it. His sense of smell was assaulted with a barrage of sensations ranging from sour week old socks to burning sharp smells from the spice merchants' stand inside the gate.

The chakra dispensed itself as he lost focus on maintaining it, but the smells didn't leave. It seemed that they had decided to linger just long enough to get his eyes to water and for his moan of displeasure to be heard by people nearby, which just looked at him with raised eyebrows.

///////////

The spy was half jogging, half running for dear life a few streets away from Naruto's location. She could not believe he had actually spotted her. She had been so careful not to make a sound, not to give any indication of where she was.

Hinata dived into her third crowd, making sure that she didn't disturb anyone who might point her out as the one Naruto was chasing. Now that she was out of immediate danger of being located, she used every evasive manoeuvre she knew to lose him.

_How had he seen her?_

She crossed one of the villages many bridges and crossed it back again, trying to make it seem as if she had forgotten something and just turned back to get it.

She was fairly certain that Naruto didn't know it was her, so the extra effort to keep it that way was vital. Only after turning a couple of corners did she dare to slow her pace to a fast walk, even though she wanted nothing more than to run as fast as her feet would allow.

_What would Naruto think of her if he found out? _

She had just done something unforgivable…something that in Konoha was considered a grave insult. To spy on another ninja's training regime without his/her consent was a violation of one of the village's many unwritten rules. It was not illegal, but everyone had the right to train and practice without being observed, to ensure that clan secrets remained secrets.

Her stomach contracted itself painfully in response to her thoughts. She had not only overstepped boundaries of polite conduct, she had betrayed Naruto's trust with her actions. Her index finger went automatically to her lower lip in an effort to calm herself.

_Why did she have to do something so stupid? Why did she need to spy on the person she admired?_

She slowed her pace, walked into an alley and hid behind a dumpster. Resting her back against the wall whilst hugging her legs up against her body, she felt somewhat safer, even if it was just another childish habit she possessed.

Breathing deeply, she let out a sad whimper that she had denied to do out on the street. She felt ashamed and worthless for what she had been caught doing.

When she decided to seek Naruto out, it was just to find some reassurance, something she always felt when she saw him. It was only a last minute decision, to find some consolation of normality among all the new things in her life as a genin.

Now she had not only dishonoured herself and her clan with her action, she had disgraced her position as a kunoichi on the first day. Worst of all, she did it against the person she admired more than anyone. She hid her face behind her legs as she started to cry silently.

It was all so new. She liked her team; she really did, but with everything so new and with no Naruto to look at for reassurance, it made the day so unfamiliar. She had hoped that seeing him would give her some calm before she got back home at least. She wanted to see his confident smile, showing her that whatever this new life held, it was nothing he could not handle if he tried, and in effect show her that she could do it as well.

She had not counted on Naruto spotting her while he was training. He had never been able to before.

He had just stood there practising how to gather chakra, or so it would seem and then he just tensed up, as if there was something wrong.

It had taken her completely by surprise when he had called out; asking if there was anyone there. She had been so tense then that she had not even dared to move. When he had actually turned towards her and said "Aha!" she had done the only thing she had wanted to do from the moment Naruto had discovered that there were someone watching him. Panic and run.

It was only luck that enabled her to flee.

Less and less tears came out as she thought of the near disaster and a thought made her mood lighten. _'Naruto had been able to detect her…'_

A strangely reassuring feeling crept over her. The fact that he had detected her meant that he was getting better. The thought forced a small smile onto her face. Naruto's training was paying off.

'_He was getting better.'_

Naruto had shown her, unknowingly, that with all the new things that happened, they too would grow with it. Naruto had shown her, his own growth, and that was enough to bring her out of her gloomy mood. She knew that she was looking too much into it, but that wasn't important, the light, warm feelings it brought with it, was.

Hinata didn't know it, but a faint blush crept upon her cheeks at the thought of witnessing the fruit of his labour. It would seem that she got the reassurance she sought after all.

She sat there, silently feeling a weight lift itself from her chest. She was still ashamed over what she had done, but she was sure that Naruto would forgive her. He was an amazingly forgiving person.

She remembered an incident when a couple of the boys in their class had thrown rocks at him during recess, but Naruto had forgiven them the moment Iruka had made them apologise. So when she apologized...

Her thoughts grounded to a halt. Her whole body stiffened in realization.

She had to talk to him…

/////////

Jiraiya scolded himself for not thinking about this before. Omori was ideal when he needed to travel fast and the flying frog did owe him a favour after their last game of cards.

The sun was about to disappear over the horizon as Omori once more used his chakra to propel his body forward. Omori was not very large. He was perhaps large enough for two to ride on his back. He was long and thin, with membranes between his toes and fingers, which he used to 'swim' on the air currents.

"**I must admit that I am a little surprised Jiraiya, it is not like you to waste a perfectly good favour on such simple tasks,**" Omori commented as he adjusted his legs according to the natural air currents.

"Something came up," replied Jiraiya with a shrug, knowing that the lack of an explanation would irk Omori to no end.

Omori kept quiet for a minute or two, until he lost his patience. "**What came up?**" the amphibian asked with obvious distaste for Jiraiya's teasing.

"Why so curious?" Jiraiya asked back with a smile.

"**Don't joke. There are all sorts of rumour's running around the mountain and I want to know what it is you have cooked up this time,**" Omori responded irritably.

Jiraiya should have guessed. Even summons gossiped and Omori's wife was no different. Hell, if Omori didn't get to know the truth, he would probably go without food for the next month or so.

"What is it you have heard?" Jiraiya inquired as innocently as he could muster. The frog's desperation was not obvious, but now that he knew about it, it was easy to see.

"**You know…all sorts of stuff.**"

Jiraiya was having a hard time containing his smile, "Such as?"

Omori grunted in defeat and started to descend. He would not fly during the night.

He dived down among the trees without slowing down and grabbed hold of one of them as he glided past. From there he just leapt down onto the ground.

Jiraiya got off and placed his backpack up against a convenient tree. He then turned and looked up on Omori with a smug smile.

The frog sighed again and started talking. "**There are all sorts of rumours flying around. How you suddenly know the future like the old senken, or that you suddenly found the child of destiny and such. There is even one that says that you and Tsunade are now married with six children, but there is nobody that would believe something like that ever happening.**"

Jiraiya had an involuntary shudder when he heard the word 'married'. He was still dreaming about having Tsunade falling for him, true, but marriage was something that had never…ever…crossed his mind.

"I am still checking up on all of that, but you can say that there is an element of truth in all of it…except the marriage," he shuddered at the thought of a lifelong relationship.

Omori opened one eye wider than the other, the frog equivalent of raising an eyebrow, silently telling Jiraiya to continue.

"I'm not able to see the future…at least not like the senile oracle, but because of a…complex event…I now know of several things that have yet to happen will happen."

Omori scowled at Jiraiya's answer. "**That isn't a very good explanation**," he said unhappily.

"Ok, let's just say that I remember doing stuff that I haven't done yet. Is that good enough?"

Omori was quiet for a few seconds before another scowl crept over his face. "**Is the marriage between Tsunade-sama and you among this 'stuff'?**" he asked accusingly.

"No," Jiraiya stated irritably. The continuously mentioning of marriage had given him a cold sweat and he was starting to feel slightly ill.

"**What about this child of destiny thing? Anything I should know about that?**"

Jiraiya smiled smugly at the flying frog, "I think I'll tell you the rest tomorrow. Wouldn't want your wife to question you all night now would we?" he said, perfectly aware that it was inevitable anyway.

The frog scowled, but didn't press the matter. He could see that the pervert was enjoying his torment far too much to let tell him what he wanted to know. He made a mental note of some 'unexpected' turbulence that he might meet tomorrow though. "**Fine, be that way. But tomorrow, you'll tell me, right?**" he grumbled, not sounding too hopeful.

Jiraiya smiled back at the frog. "Sure thing, but it might be a long story and you know how my through starts to dry up when I tell lengthy stories…" he said, not bothering to hide his shameless pursuit of something alcoholic to drink.

"**We'll see, tomorrow I might not have anything breakable to carry it in,**" The frog mumbled just before he took his leave in a puff of smoke.

**End**

This chapter was Beta-read by Dean Angel (You can probably tell, by the noticeable reduction in spelling errors and the improved flow in the story).

Authors notes:

Omori = Weight. He is a large (larger then a horse) Rhacophorus malabaricus (Malabar Flying Frog. I think it is from somewhere in Asia). I was planning to use Omoi = Heavy, but that was already taken by a canon character.

The Gama-contract: I know that Gama = Toad, but Toad's and Frogs are in the same order (Anura) as most toads. The difference between the two is mostly how they look. Some frogs can be called a toad and some toads can be defined as frogs. Thus the difference is not always clear.

There was no dream this time, as I didn't have anything specific that needed to be touched upon. He did dream, but it contained flying bowls of ramen, so it had nothing to do with a former life.

Senken = ancient sage

Ojisan = grandfather

Mr. Ukki is not an OC (Plant). He is in fact shown on page 2, chapter 16, and top, right corner in the manga.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Naruto is an ongoing manga and anime that I clearly do not own. This story is written without permission for fan-purposes only.

**Afterthoughts**

**Chapter 5.**

_Naruto twisted sideways as Hinata's hand passed his arm by mere centimetres. . _

_She could be devilishly quick, and sparing against her was always a challenge. She knew all his moves, and he hers. It made their spars a stage of 'improvements', in other words improvisation. It really showed in their fighting skills as well. Naruto had, since they started sparing, adopted more and more elaborate dodging techniques, throwing himself around like mad to avoid being struck. _

_Hinata on the other hand, had incorporated a very subtle twist on her original Juken style. It could only be described as 'dirty'. Her gentle flowing style would quickly turn into sharp jab with her elbow, or even a knee to the groin (something Naruto had become particularly weary of). _

_Twisting low, to get into Hinata's backward elbow, Naruto tried to get behind her back, so to subdue her. He was rewarded with Hinata backing into him full force, with a dosage of chakra, just to seal the deal. _

_He ended up on his rear, with Hinata's glowing finger pointed directly at his nose. His gaze followed the arm and up to her face. She was huffing a bit, but a satisfied smile was plastered on her face. _

"_This one is yours then?" he asked teasingly. _

_With a final huff, Hinata released her stance hand helped him up. "It is, do you remember what the prize was?"_

_Naruto did, and he was dreading that. It was the making of the dinner. In truth, it wasn't the worst thing he could have been stuck with. _

_But then "…and remember that Jiraiya-sama is coming to visit."_

_That changed everything. It was amazing how much the taste buds changed after a reincarnation. It also meant that Naruto had to go bug hunting, and preparing two different meals. He still wasn't forgiven for the first time he had toads over for dinner, and they had a surprise visit from Hiashi-sama. It was the last time he would be lazy with the cooking. _

_Never before had he seen a Hyuga loose face like that (including colour), and not forgetting the lecture he'd gotten some days later about not feeding his daughter right. Not surprisingly, the rumours were flying after that…. _

_/_

Hinata…

The sun was just peaking over the mountains when Hinata arrived at the street corner where her team had agreed to meet.

She was the first to arrive, just like the day before.

She felt unusually tired this morning, having had a somewhat dramatic evening the day before. It had been a long time since she had felt excitement like that, or terror, which she had mistaken it for.

She wasn't proud of what she had done, but after having settled down, and come to terms with her first near discovery, she had managed to convince herself that it wasn't the right time to come clean after all. Not until she could manage a whole sentence while thinking about it anyway.

She knew that it made her a coward, but that was nothing new. She'd been at the academy for nearly a year, and she hadn't even dared to raise her hand when there was something she wasn't sure about.

With that, she tried to think of something else. It was easy for her to get lost in thoughts of her own short comings, and it never lead to anything good. So with that in mind, she tried to distract herself by examining her surroundings.

The only building that was near was one under construction, with scaffoldings made of bamboo covering the outer walls. The whole first floor had been finished, and partially the walls on the second floor. There were no doors, nor windows, which caused the fresh morning light to darken the shadows. As the builders had yet to arrive, the place lay silent. The overall feel of the place became a bit too spooky for Hinata's liking.

Feeling her hand raise itself to her lip, Hinata forced the scary thoughts away. It was bad enough being useless in Juken, it would kill her father if he found out she was still a bit frightened of the dark.

She wasn't afraid of monsters like she had been when she was younger; the overnight excursions out in the woods during the academy had cured that fear (in a not too gentle way). No, what unnerved her was a more potential and real threat of enemy shinobi, which had taken on the role as bogymen in her nightmares.

It was the remnants of the kidnapping attempt made on her when she was younger that still haunted her. She had been placed in a genjutsu when it happened, so she didn't really experience any of it, but the end result had been the death of her uncle, which was real enough.

She had been such an easy target, not only was she incapable of defending herself, her incompetence had caused a tragedy which still pained both her father and her cousin more than anyone of them would admit…not that she dared to ask them about it.

Thinking it better to be safe than sorry, she activated her Byakugan, and looked around inside the building. With her dojutsu active, there was no dark, no colour, and no place for people to hide. It was actually rather peaceful once one got over the feeling of vertigo that having a 180 degree vision angle caused.

"Is there someone hiding inside?" a reserved voice asked from behind her.

Shino's sudden appearance startled Hinata enough that automatically deactivated her Byakugan, and let out a surprised yelp, which came out as more of an "Eeep!"

She had been so focused on the building in front of her, that she hadn't even noticed that her team-mate had walked up beside her.

Turning around slowly, keeping her eyes firmly focused at the ground, she answered him, with a barely audible "…no…Good morning…Shino-kun."

"Good morning Hinata."

Shino stood there for a few seconds before he nodded and stationed himself with his back against the fence.

Hinata still wasn't used to Shino's natural aura of silence, so her first thought was that he had simply dismissed her. On their first day, Hinata was afraid she might have offended him, but Shino had never been very talkative. Being placed on the same team as him, she was just now starting getting used to how little he actually said.

The first day, she had become so unfocused, trying to find out what she'd done to offend him, without offending him more, that their sensei had easily noticed and taken it upon her self to unravel the misunderstandings.

Kurenai had explained their situations to both of them, and made sure that Shino understood that Hinata's constant apologizing was because she thought Shino was angry at her. This had caused Hinata to blush madly, and Shino's eyebrows to actually rise in surprise.

She had then explained to Hinata that Shino wasn't angry at her at all, he just didn't talk much, which Shino nodded his agreement to. Hinata's following apologies for making the mistake was enough to have Kiba burst out laughing.

As her fingers started to press themselves against each other, as was her nervous habit, but she decided to try to strike up a conversation with Shino anyway. She wanted to get to know him better after all.

"Anou…may I…ask you a question?" she tried, and was painfully aware of how scared she sounded. It wasn't just the thought of offending him that made her voice quiver; she was also worried about her lack of social skills. Not the formal ones, that required her to bow a lot and keep quiet until spoken to, but those that seemed to come so natural to everyone else.

Shino looked at her for a moment before he nodded, making Hinata fight her own self doubt while it lasted.

Forcing herself not to further explain that he didn't need to answer, she asked, "Do…do you have any…hobbies?"

The question didn't sound all that invasive now that she had said it, but still, she held her breath.

Shino took a moment before he answered her with a simple "…Yes."

It wasn't exactly what Hinata had in mind, as it wasn't much of a conversation starter. She must have been fiddling again, because he started talking.

"I collect and study insects in my spare time."

"…Anou…how long have you…collected insects?" Hinata tried, as she didn't want to loose the conversation, even if it wasn't the most original of questions.

"…Since I was six. It is the norm among my clan, so we will be better able to improve ourselves and our colonies."

His last statement made Hinata bite her own lip hesitantly. She was unable to read anything from Shino in terms of emotion or feelings about the issue. Was he telling her that he didn't consider it a hobby, and merely did it to please his clan? Or did he mean that he liked doing it, so he could contribute to his clan?

Luckily, the mismatched conversation was interrupted when the bark of a familiar puppy sounded in the morning air. The noise was immediately followed by the appearance of an excited Akamaru, as he ran over to Hinata wanting to get the girl to cuddle him (which he had discovered was an easy task the day before).

The stumbling figure of Kiba appeared from around the same corner, looking so tired that Hinata wouldn't have been surprised at all if he were to fall asleep right there. "Morning," he managed to grunt out as a greeting.

"Good morning Kiba-san, Akamaru-san," greeted Hinata as politely as she could manage, even giving a small bow.

Following Hinata's example, Shino also greeted their team-mate, only with a nod.

"What's with the 'san'? Makes me feel old," commented Kiba in a voice that betrayed his apparent tiredness.

Thinking that she might have stepped out of line with the formalities, which she automatically used out of habit on anyone that looked tired, Hinata wasted no time before apologising. "Gomen…Kiba-kun, gomennasai!"

Kiba looked at her with an expression that seemed lost, before he shrugged and dismissed whatever Hinata had apologised for, "No worries, so what do you guys think we'll be doing today?"

"Training, a mission and lunch," was the stoic answer he got from Shino.

"You could at least try to be happy that were finally real ninja," Kiba resorted with a scowl.

Shino just looked at him, and a trained eye would have noticed that one of his eyebrows moved a bit, before it stayed perfectly still. The apparent lack of a response however, was enough to irritate the already grumpy Kiba.

"Stop acting so uncaring! And you don't know for certain what we're going to do today!"

"He's right though," said Kurenai as she suddenly stood amongst them, as if she had always been there.

Kiba barked out in surprise at her sudden appearance "Gah! Don't scare me like that sensei!"

He was so shocked by her appearance, that he let both the tiredness and his tough-guy attitude drop.

Hinata had also gasped at their sensei's sudden arrival, but Shino had barely reacted. That is, to those who knew Shino well, or was good at reading body posture, would have discovered that he was actually rather shocked to have someone sneak up on them like that, but to every one else, he was as calm as ever. The only sign of agitation was that he had pushed his back away from the wall.

"Just as Shino said," continued Kurenai after giving Kiba a friendly smirk, "we'll do training first. Let's start warming up, running from here to training area fourteen. It's not too far from the gate so it won't wear you out too much, but by the time where finished, you will be."

The genin just stared at her for a few seconds, as they all found it rather surprising how eager the Jônin was to start their training. She hadn't seemed like this much of a morning person the day before.

After a moment, where there was no indication that the genin would start moving, Kurenai added, "Well? Are you going to start today?"

At that, the genin scrambled hurriedly away, before they started to run properly.

Kurenai sighed happily as she watched her genin running as fast as their feet would carry them towards training area fourteen. Her first team assignment as a Jônin sensei was steadily growing on her.

She waited until her students were out of sight before she made for the training area herself. She had read a book on teaching, and it always paid to impress in the beginning. It would make the students more interested in what she said and respect their teacher more.

It wasn't long before she passed the genin, but she was careful to do so unnoticed. She made sure that she kept herself upwind, and had been careful to remove Shino's beetles from the day before. She had also made sure that her contact with him today, hadn't left enough time for him to replace them.

Even though they couldn't see her as she passed by, she got a good look at them. Kiba was leading, which didn't surprise her. The Inuzuka clan based everything they did off canines, and that included their speed.

Kiba was probably the noisiest genin she had ever encountered. He was always cocky and way too sure of himself, but he was a good boy and his enthusiasm was delightful to work with. If she managed to get him to focus, he had potential to go far.

On a close second was Shino. The Aburame acted much like any grown-up member of his clan, silent and observing. They weren't a bad lot, but the nature of their clan jutsu made for little interaction with outsiders. This often made them a bit awkward with normal conversation, and they usually came of as being overly focused on facts and precision.

Shino was no exception in his social skills, but it hadn't taken long for Kurenai to see through this trait and see the boy beneath. He had a good heart, and yesterday he had really tried to get to know his team better, even though it had seemed as if his sole intent was to gather necessary facts.

The last one was none other than Hyuga Hinata. Kurenai remembered the girl from the time she walked the girl to the academy. It had just been couple of D-rank mission to get back on her feet after a rather hazardous B-rank.

In retrospect, it was a task anyone could have done, and the Hyuga clan wasn't short of manpower to do it themselves. It shamed her that it had taken more than an hour to deduce it to be something as simple as a message.

To Hinata they said, 'We won't hold your hand among strangers,' and to anyone else they said, 'She is protected.'

It wasn't a cruel thing to do, but Yuuhi Kurenai was convinced that it would have been far simpler to just tell the girl instead of making her guess.

The girl had been silent the whole time when they walked to the academy that day, but her body language had been so easily read, that it had taken a mere moment to determine that it wasn't unwillingness to talk with outsiders that kept her silent, like some elite clan children would do, but simple, and natural nervousness.

It was such a natural trait, that if felt utterly unnatural for a child in Hinata's position to display it. It was actually a bit silly when one thought about it. The girl came from one of the richest and most elite clans in the village, living along side several shinobi masters, and she felt nervous in the company of a simple chuunin.

She was timid and shy, and Kurenai didn't fault her. Hiashi-sama's loud comment before they left had been both unnecessary and hurtful, and at the time, it had served to make Kurenai angry enough to actually go out drinking the following night…with Anko…who had felt it appropriate to break into a sandal maker's store and nail random pairs to the ground.

It had actually taken her over a week to crack the code of that particular episode, and her anger drifted over to something akin to bafflement and irritation. Hiashi wasn't tired of his eldest daughter…he was just terrible at raising children. What he had failed to see, was that his daughter was her own person, and whatever he'd manage to do when he was her age didn't mean that she would be able to match.

His use of reverse-psychology was also poorly timed to the extreme, so much that even Anko would have done a better job. And Anko was a woman who timed her daily schedule around dango and whatever whim she cared for that particular week.

Realising that her thoughts only served to make her angry and disappointed, Kurenai dispelled them from her mind.

Instead, she thought about what she had seen during the team assignment. Hinata was just as timid and shy as she had been when they first met, but the nervous fiddling, combined with her fixed stare when she walked to the front of the classroom hinted that there maybe were now someone she was interested in.

Also, her momentarily hesitation at the door, combined with the rose red blush afterwards told Kurenai that whoever she had a crush on (and that was what it was) was still in the classroom when they left, which narrowed the possible targets to seven boys. Not that Kurenai would admit to have counted.

Being the denying romantic that she was, Yuuhi Kurenai had already set a personal goal to find out who it was Hinata had become sweet on. If only to make sure it didn't interfere with the girl's training and activities as a shinobi of course (at least, that was what she told herself whenever she felt like giggling like a little school girl).

/

When Hinata reached the training area, both Shino and Kiba were waiting for her. The fact that she was last didn't surprise her, and she was prepared for any scolding that might come her way. She wasn't sure that she would get one, as Kurenai had yet to criticise anything she'd done, except the frequent apologizing on the first day.

Realizing that Kurenai was actually there as well, before she'd even arrived, was enough to make her miss the obvious exhaustion that Kiba displayed openly, and Shino did his utmost to hide.

"Ok, team eight, time to do some taijutsu practice," Kurenai ordered with what could have been considered sickening optimism under those circumstances. "You're not going to actually fight, so no solid hits, clear? I want you to get a 'feel' on the flow of you're comrades fighting style."

Yesterday, they had tested their endurance, so their sensei would know just how much they could do, before they were ready to drop. Not surprisingly, Hinata had come last there too.

Kurenai didn't give her time to dwell on it as she continued. "Now, to do this, we'll move slower than what you would normally do in a spar, but fast enough to get past you're opponents guard."

After that, she put Shino and Kiba to spar, while she herself tested Hinata.

/

Hinata was not as fluid as most Hyuga that Kurenai had observed, but she did have a knack for blocking incoming strikes. Having been stationed as a guard for the clan, Kurenai was also aware, to some extent, of the different levels of proficiency and somewhat of the styles that was to be had with Juken.

Hinata clearly favoured to use her entire palm when fighting, and if she had used chakura, the wide spread of the attack would probably have an easier time blocking her chakra, than actually damaging anything.

It was the style used whenever non lethal force was intended, and was often the favoured style when there was a spar. The only other style she had clearly observed was when the attacker used only their fingertips when advancing, which supposedly sharpened the strikes and could easily deal lethal damage if necessary.

The later one was both faster and more dynamic than the one Hinata used. Even so, with the safer and slower style, Hinata made up for it in timing. Kurenai didn't use any real speed in her attacks, but even so, for Hinata to time her defence almost as flawlessly as she did must have taken a lot of practise.

She never actually blocked an attack, but instead used whatever limb closest to the attack, to knock it away from its original target. It made her movements rather erratic, as she sped up to block and slowed down to attack. That along with the original movements of the opponent, that she never really stopped but forced to miss her, made her taijutsu very strong defensively.

With that in mind, Kurenai stopped her assault, and stepped back, intending to guide the girl into attacking her, so she could judge her offence.

It came as a surprise when Hinata didn't follow. Rather than following, she stepped back with a confused look on her face.

"What's wrong Hinata?" asked Kurenai, as she noted that the girl was unsure if she should step out of the combat stance or not.

"Anou…were we not supposed to stop?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

"No, It's you're turn to attack," answered Kurenai with what she hoped was a neutral voice.

Hinata hesitate a moment before she nodded to signal that she was ready again, and launched herself into an attack pattern. Kurenai had a clear view of the girl's eyes when she did this, and even without visible pupils, she was surprisingly easy to read. She was uncertain and self-scolding, as if she'd done something wrong and expected to answer for it. She didn't have time to think about it for long though, as Hinata attacked.

From the first strike, Kurenai saw a problem. Hinata's attacks were precise, but there was really no timing at all this time around. She launched blow after blow, but not one came even close to connect with Kurenai, and she was going easy on the girl.

There was just no will behind them. No plan, no sense of purpose, just a predictable pattern of repeated attacks that she must have memorized. It was with an internal sigh that Kurenai blocked the girls attack, grabbed her arm and forced her to the ground by using it as leverage.

"You have a good defence Hinata, but I see we'll have to work on you're attacks."

"…hai…sensei" was the quiet response she got.

"Don't sound so disappointed Hinata, you did very well, and you've only just now become a genin."

"G-Gomen! Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata blurt out so fast and apologetic, that Kurenai instantly realized that there had been another misunderstanding. Hinata wasn't disappointed just because she felt herself inadequate, but also because she thought that Kurenai was disappointed in her performance.

The boys had stopped their spar, and it looked like Kiba had gotten the worst of it. His clothes were dirty and he was breathing harder now than before. Kurenai didn't think he was actually tired, but the speed oriented fighting style of the Inuzuka would be much more taxing than he more standard academy version (which was designed to be bent and moulded to one's own liking) that Shino seemed to favour.

Looking over her students, Kurenai decided that they could use five minutes to devour what they had learnt before switching.

"Ok, we'll take five, and let me tell you more about you're situation. I realize I might not have been all clear when I told you that only thirty percent of you're class would go on to pass the test to become genin."

It had been clear that little of the actual situation had been explained to them, which was designed as such to give the Jônin an extra edge when testing their students. Hearing the truth would allow the more impatient members of her team to stay calm for a few minutes, even if they didn't want to.

"What I meant was, that only thirty percent would go on to become active genins in training. All of you're old classmates has passed to become genin, but only nine of you was to be put under the guidance of a Jônin-sensei, so as to advance you're training further than the rest."

At that Kiba reacted, "But you said that if we didn't pass, we would be sent back to the academy!"

"And if you wanted to be put under the tutelage of a Jônin-sensei, you would have to," Kurenai went on without pause. "Most of Konoha's population are graduated genin, even if they have other careers today. They are everywhere. Administration, diplomats, traders, shop attendants…everywhere. Most don't bother continuing their training, and settles down for something else. Those that don't give up the hope of becoming a shinobi goes back to the academy to pass the exams again, so they can get another shot at being on a team."

It was a bit strange for Kurenai to observe Hinata and Kiba's faces as they absorbed this clearly new knowledge. The academy didn't seem to have deemed it important to tell their students that other career paths were open to them, even if they didn't manage to pass the tests of the Jônin.

They probably thought Jônin's would take it upon themselves to inform the various teams if they failed, which she would have, but she doubted Sarutobi Asuma or Hatake Kakashi (the other Jônins who'd passed a team that year) would have done so.

She talked a bit more about these simple facts, until they seemed ready to start again. There was to be two more of these pauses, before she was to take them on another D-rank mission, which probably seemed much more exciting for those student's that didn't belong to a financially sound clan like every one of her students did.

/

After the mission had succeeded in dirtying their clothes, Kurenai wanted to continue to evaluate their progress.

"Now that are done with the obligatory tasks of the day, we'll continue where we left of earlier."

"Yoshi! Another spar! We'll do better this time, right Akamaru?" Kiba announced loudly.

"Not so, now we'll test you're chakra control."

Kiba was the only one that gave her a blank stare in return, which was a good sign. Luckily he didn't object, proof that the energetic Inuzuka was for all his impatient nature, a fast learner.

"This will only take a second, so you don't need to look so startled Kiba. I only want to see you demonstrate you're favourite chakra control exercise. We'll work together from there."

If anything, Kiba's face paled at that, which left Kurenai to wonder why.

Shino was the first to demonstrate his choice, and Kurenai was impressed to see the boy walk directly up the trunk of a tree. It was not often genin, fresh from the academy, had enough control to manipulate the chakra under their feet. His stride was steady and paced fast enough to demonstrate both chakra control and leg strength. Done enough, it would probably work as a double work out.

Hinata, who only fiddled a little, also took a couple of shaky steps up the same trunk before she too quickened her stride. Her pace was faster than Shino, but even so, she looked as if she had a harder time of it than the boy. From her body language, Kurenai read that the girl had to work much harder to place one foot over the other and still retain a grip on the tree, to the point of it looking like a struggle.

To Kurenai's trained eye, she was easily able to see that it wasn't her control that was the problem, but rather a shaky confidence. Oh, the girl probably had more than enough chakra and her control was excellent, but she was just so focused on not falling, that she had trouble with the dynamic increase and decreasing of chakra that was necessary for a steady stride.

As her only female student reached the branch, which Shino had made the unofficial goal, her attention drifted onto her last genin, but the look of utter defeat on Kiba's face made her hesitate for a moment. She had only really known Kiba for a couple of days, but she had never seen him look this unsure of himself…or even been able to imagine it.

"Kiba? What's wrong?"

Her voice actually made him flinch. He looked like a kicked puppy.

"Sensei…I can't do that," he muttered with a small voice, clearly uncomfortable to admit a weakness to his new team.

"That's alright Kiba, we're only looking at the chakra control, not the exercise. Just demonstrate one of the chakra exercises you know."

"…I don't know any…" was all he said, and Kurenai got the impression of a puppy who had just been scolded, but not from the one that was whining in sympathy on the boy's head.

"Now, I know that's not true," she stated in a firm, motherly voice, bringing Kiba's focus back on her. If he didn't know how wrong he was with his statement, she saw it as her duty to correct him.

"I know for a fact that Inuzuka track by scent, and I also know that you do the same."

"…Yeah, so?"

"And how are you able to enhance your senses to do that?"

"…"

"It's an open secret Kiba, doesn't mean anyone can do it anyway."

"…We channel chakra to our noses?"

"Correct, and what happen if you channel too much?"

"We get a nosebleed?"

"Again you are right. You hurt yourself when you do that. Now what does that tell you?"

Kurenai actually heard Hinata gasp from her position in the tree, while the genin that she was actually trying to explain the concept to was still working on the answer. She guessed that Hinata didn't like the thought of blood, which would be a huge disadvantage in the shinobi trade, or that she was just uncomfortable with Kiba smelling her with super senses, which would be more natural for a girl her age.

Anyway, it was things that she would see to later.

/

Hinata was shocked, and a bit horrified to discover just how Naruto had spotted her the day before.

He had smelled her!

It was bad enough to be self conscious about her looks (like any female, of any age), but she had been to the animal pens yesterday, and she knew that she must have reeked.

She missed the rest of the explanation, as her mind was filling up with the horrible possibilities that would come from this. Naruto would know it was her the next time they met, or worse, he already knew.

This made her decision to tell him even harder. He would know before she said it. What if he accused her before she could confess her guilt? What would he think? She was uncomfortably aware that her panic was steadily beginning to show on her face.

Taking a deep breath, she decided that she needed help. If she were to tell Naruto about her wrong doing, she needed to tell him before he found out on his own.

She didn't think he would start yelling at her, as Naruto never seemed to want to be alone, or care if someone pulled a prank on him, but he might be disappointed in her going behind his back like she had done.

To do that, she'd need to ask her sensei about what could be done to counter this technique, so she waited. She waited until her sensei was finished talking with Kiba, and he was preoccupied with his exercise before she even dared approach her sensei.

She had walked down the trunk and was halfway to their sensei, before her courage broke. She couldn't do this. What was she going to say?

Luckily, or unluckily as Hinata saw it at the time, Kurenai noticed Hinata's approach and deduced that she wanted to ask her about something.

"Do you have a question, Hinata?"

Caught in the open, Hinata couldn't do anything but nod stiffly (if a bit hesitantly and trembling). "H-Hai…Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai didn't press her further, but her smile welcomed the question. It was probably the only thing that enabled Hinata to continue. "Anou…I just…just wanted to know if…if there was a way to…hide you're scent?"

As soon as the question was out, Kiba's shoulder stiffened. But before he had time to say anything, or for Hinata to panic, thinking she'd done something wrong, Kurenaitook it upon herself to defuse the situation.

"Don't take it personally Kiba. It is only natural for girls to worry about such things, and whatever else, your family's jutsu is invading peoples personal space, so to speak."

Hinata, feeling mortified about having insulted her team-mate opened her mouth to apologise, but she was interrupted as well. "And don't feel bad about asking that question Hinata, as I was going to teach you about that anyway. We're going to be a recon team, and as such, we will work primarily on hiding and scouting. Besides, Kiba isn't insulted because he thinks you don't approve of his technique, just surprised over a possible weakness."

It wasn't exactly the reason why Hinata had asked the question. Well, not entirely why. Truth be told, she had completely forgotten how the question would seem directed against Kiba, and the realization that it could be seen as an insult, mortified her. Neither was she completely convinced that her sensei had been entirely correct about why Kiba reacted, even if he seemed to take the explanation in stride.

Not wanting to disobey her new sensei, she didn't apologize, but her expression was easily enough read, that Kiba picked up on it and took it upon himself to fix things.

"Don't worry about it Hinata. Sensei's right, besides, it'll be cool to be able to fool my sister with that kind of technique."

"…I meant no offence…sorry Kiba-kun."

Kurenai sighed as Hinata's instinct overruled her own instruction, which again caused Hinata to blush at the realization of her so-called disobedience.

Before Hinata had time to fuss any further, Kurenai launched into another lecture, this time about how to suppress scent. It was only a matter of time before Hinata fell into the whole team concept, and Kurenai thought it best to just take things as they came until that time.

"Suppressing ones odour isn't as difficult as one is led to believe. Or at least the theoretical part isn't. Kiba, can you tell us what it is you do when you track someone by scent?"

Kiba looked like a caught deer when Kurenai asked the question. Hinata knew that Kiba wasn't the most attentive student, and that he didn't like to speak up when in class. Even so, with only a smile, Kurenai got him talking, hesitantly at first, but it soon evolved into confidence. "Well…smell, you know…its like, a part of the body…you know? Like, no one smells the same, right? Mom says it's these, very small pieces of skin, like dandruff, but even smaller, and that is what you smell when tracking someone…"

Kurenai smiled approvingly. "Very good Kiba, that's almost right. What you smell is part of the body, or object which you seek to track. What it actually is, is molecules which evaporate off the object in question."

Kiba looked a bit embarrassed that his sensei seemed to know more than him on the subject, so Kurenai wasted little time fixing it. "I spent a month with your mother during a tracking mission. By the time it was over, I'd probably learned more about tracking than any ANBU training would be able to provide. So in retrospect, you are all learning this, second hand, from Inuzuka Tsume, your mother."

Taking a second to savour the priceless look that crossed Kiba's face, Kurenai waited a bit before she asked, "Now, with that information, what can be done to stop this from happening?"

Hinata was unsure if Kurenai asked the question to the group in general, or just too Kiba, but it was Shino who answered. "Stop the molecules from spreading?"

Kurenai didn't miss a beat when the silent Aburame answered, which made Hinata all the more aware that she had jumped a little at the sound of his voice.

"Very good Shino, now, do anyone know how this might be done? I'd like to point out that you have all the pieces you'll need to answer that question. No Kiba, it's not something you learnt in class", Kurenai broke off as Kiba started to raise his hand, "All the pieces have been provided today."

After Kurenai said that, there was silence. Shino didn't answer, so he probably didn't know. Kiba made a show of thinking about this, even asking Akamaru. Hinata didn't know, but as their sensei said, they'd gotten all they needed to deduce the answer, so she got to work.

She thought about Kurenai sensei's lecture, turned Kiba's lecture, turned back to Kurenai sensei's a moment ago. She said that humans continuously gave away molecules, which was used by trackers to locate their target, but what about other things? Did they give away molecules as well? They probably had to if that was how smell worked. Was it the same concept? Even so, how could they stop it?

Kurenai's smile seemed to become even bigger as Hinata and the others thought it over, only twitching whenever Kiba sighed and said he gave up. But he started up again whenever she raised her eyebrow at his claim of it being too difficult.

As Hinata thought about what clues they'd been given on how to counter this, she came up with exactly nothing. Whatever Kurenai-sensei had said, there was little that could be applied to this situation in anyway that Hinata could think off.

Her thoughts were jolted as Shino asked an unexpected question. "Are we to assume that however it should be done, it is to keep the targets signature smell from reaching an eventual tracker?"

Kurenai just kept smiling whilst she nodded in approval. She was evidently enjoying the sight of the genin's struggle to find the answer.

Shino continued, "But not by the use of conventional means like staying downwind."

It was a statement, even if it could have been seen as fishing for the right answer. Kurenai nodded before she answered.

"Our missions could be to infiltrate enemy lines, and a shift in the wind can be very hard to predict, and disastrous behind enemy lines."

So one was too keep whatever they gave away, from falling off their body, be it skin-cells, dirt or molecules. The only thing Hinata could relate this to was the tree walking exercise, in which they…created a magnetic pull between themselves and the tree… so they would…stick to…it.

It was such a far fetched idea, that Hinata would never have subjected it to her team, but again Kurenai read her like an open book.

"Hinata, would you like to share what you have discovered with the rest of the team?"

Hinata both hated and loved being put on the spot like this. She hated it because it made her leave her comfort zone, and loved it because it forced her to change, even if it was just a little. "…anou…if, I mean…what if…one used chakra to…like t-the tree w-walking exercise…but not just…but everywhere…?"

Hinata could have kicked herself for how many times her voice broke. Looking at her team, she noted that Kiba looked confused, and Shino looked…like Shino, but somehow he looked like an approving Shino. Kurenai on the other hand had the most beaming grin Hinata had ever seen on her sensei's face.

"That's exactly right Hinata, if a bit simplified. When you use the concept from the tree-walking exercise, and modify it to cover your entire body, you'll effectively become a magnet of a sort. It's hard, and takes some extremely delicate control to only attract so tiny substances over such a large area, but you'll effectively shut away any molecules that can be used to track you down."

Hinata's cheeks flushed with the compliment as she listened intently to what her sensei was saying. She wasn't used to getting compliments like this, and it both embarrassed her and warmed her to the core at the same time. Not to mention, if she could learn this, she could apologise to Naruto, without him realizing what she'd done before she got to tell him herself.

Kurenai continued speaking, "that being said, it is also very, very difficult to learn. Most chuunin are unable to do it, and not all Jônins can do it either. But I know that you all have the potential to become experts with this technique, because it is demanded of us.

/

The daily goings for most chuunin was very little like what genins imagined it to be. The traditional surprise of what D-rank mission consisted of had long since past for those of chuunin rank, but that didn't mean that they were finished with them. This also seemed to be the story of Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu's life. They were both chuunin, had been since they were both nineteen years old (now twenty-five), but their life of adventure had yet to start.

The only real achievement they had, other than making chuunin, which some people would consider a monumental achievement in itself, was that together they held the village record in most completed D-rank missions ever recorded. A stunning number of 983 missions each. This however did nothing to help them overcome the overall monotone which haunted these types of missions.

That was why they had gone to great lengths to acquire the most potentially dangerous, most important mission, with an overall risk factor so high, it would at times be classified as a C-rank. They were going to guard the village gate.

The high risk D-rank was not enough to erase overall monotone however, and they'd adopted the traditional position of being slumped over the desk. The only reason why the mission was now classified as a D-rank, was the fact that it was the slow season for trade and workers from outside the village.

It was a by product of the sudden increase in Genin activity, providing cheap labour over the summer, as all the unlucky genins worked overtime to earn some money before they either went back to the academy, or resigned to the position of Genin and eventually got proper jobs. Genin wages wasn't much to live on.

As it was, Izumo and Kotetsu had almost nothing to do. Sprawled over the desk like a couple of lazy bums, they were the prime image of 'shinobi at work'. Only their respective uniforms and the area they occupied alerted people to their line of work, and they got several disgusted glances directed in their direction by once lowly genin, turned respective citizens of Konohagakure.

Some time during the day, a shadow passed over their heads, and didn't drift on like it should.

Just before it got suspicious, it quickly slid off, and onto the middle of the road, where something large landed, blowing up a cloud of dust as it did so.

As the dust cloud enveloped the gate entrance and anyone in the vicinity (Izumo and Kotetsu), voices was heard from whatever had landed in front of them.

"I told you, you could do it!" a recognisable, but hard to place voice said and then a strangely large sounding voice replied, **"Yeah, yeah, lousy drunk, but this erases any economical obligations to you! Alright?"**

As the cloud retreated on the gentle breeze, a tall, white haired man was left standing in front of the startled guards. He smiled at them for a moment, before he took a ridiculous pose, standing on one foot and then started to…dance?

"From the tales of legend…" the man started as he jumped on one leg sideways, "…I come flying on the Wind!"

Izumo and Kotetsu didn't know what to make of the display, so they just kept watching.

"The master of toads, the charmer of women…" he quit jumping, and posed ridiculously with his palm held out towards them and his head turned away,"…one legendary warrior of three and the One True Sage, holding life's meaning…"

Not daring to say anything, as this was the closest thing to entertainment they were likely going to see that day, the guards remained silent as the man started rotating his entire upper body, causing his long ponytail to whirl around dramatically.

"The best selling author of the most divine of literature of man! The great Jiraiya-sama!" the man finished, in such a ridiculous wide pose, that only the mentioning of his name managed to stifle the laughter that threatened to overtake the onlookers.

Kotetsu didn't make it, and fought the snort that came, actually making him drool for a moment.

The man grinned from ear to ear, looking like he enjoyed the inner struggle of Izumo (and the lost struggle of Kotetsu) and proclaimed in the same booming voice as he used in his introduction,

"I AM HOME!"

/

The frog was in a tight spot. The poisonous human (brightly coloured) behind him was acting funny, like the smaller, deadly ones (children) was prone to act. True, it wasn't big, like the harmless humans that ignored it, but it was still bigger than those prone to torture a careless frog to death.

In an effort to escape, the frog cunningly leaped forward two times and stopped. That would put the poisonous human off guard for a bit.

To the amphibian's horror, the human did the exact same thing as he did. Imitating his brilliant move with a twisted parody of amphibian jumping. The power of humans was horrible to behold indeed.

It tried again. This time he jumped three times before he stopped. He had included some cunning sideways jumps this time, so his direction was slightly altered from before. The human followed suit…even adjusting it's position when it landed.

Truly, this human had to be a horrible genius. A mastermind of the most dreaded sort.

/

Sakura and Sasuke stared at their team mate in confusion. Kakashi hadn't been gone for more than five minutes before the orange clad blond had gotten bored and reverted to a childlike state of mind. So they watched in silence, as Naruto squatted down behind a frog, only to mimic it's jumping as the creature tried to escape.

The scene was bizarre.

They'd had to do taijutsu sparing that day, and as expected, Sasuke had dominated the exercise. They'd even gotten a lecture on the particulars of animal based fighting styles that could be described more as off hand comments about them, and why they were unsuited for shinobi work. Sasuke and Sakura both guessed that it was the reason for their team mate's strange behaviour.

After Naruto had jumped after the frog for about a minute, Sakura couldn't hold it in anymore. "What are you doing?"

Naruto, who had been in the process of puffing his cheeks up, made no move to get up to answer. "I'm trying to figure out if frog movements can be applied to taijutsu, like monkey or crane," was the reasoning he gave before jumping forward again as the frog did.

There really wasn't anything more to say about that, so Sakura didn't feel justified trying to talk him out of it. Naruto was annoying and childish, but he was thinking about something useful, even if it probably was a futile endeavour, as taijutsu styles based on animal movements had been around so long that there probably weren't any other animals one could create more styles from.

A 'huff' from Sasuke, told Sakura that he was also thinking along those lines. Even so, seeing an opportunity to have a conversation with the Uchiha was good enough for her. "What do you think Sasuke-kun?" she asked, with a tone she hoped would be neutral enough to bend whichever way Sasuke thought about Naruto's behaviour.

At first, she didn't think he would answer, as he stood there silently, but at the point of becoming clear that he wouldn't respond, he said "It is an impractical animal to imitate."

Taken somewhat off guard by Sasuke's comment, Sakura struggled to find his reasoning. Sure, frogs weren't exactly aggressive creatures, but neither were monkeys…or cranes. "…What do you mean Sasuke-kun?" she tried hesitantly, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't go silent again.

To her delight, he appeared to take interest in the subject. "A frog's only means of escape is its legs, moving like no other creature can. For that to transferee onto human movement, one would have to develop movements that no other can follow, or imitate. Monkey style is based on moving so not to be hit, crane is based on deflection. Frog would be based on running away, in a way that could not be imitated, something which is not that useful in defeating an enemy."

Naruto seemed to take notice of the conversation for the first time and stopped his chase. "Actually, I think it could be based on the same as the Monkey," he chipped inn, not really that bothered with his team not thinking it a worthwhile idea. "Just look at this…"

He broke into what could be considered a half-hearted cartwheel (his legs didn't leave the squatted stance), and made an exaggerated frog leap when he landed. He then proceeded to land in a roll, coming back up on his legs, beaming with pride.

Sasuke just grunted at his display before adding his two cents. "That was just a more 'airy' version of the Monkey style demonstration they gave at the academy. It defeats it purpose when it is all happening in striking height."

Beside the two boys, Sakura didn't know how to proceed. From out of nowhere, her team mates had started a taijutsu discussion. Sasuke and Naruto had a discussion on a subject, other than why Sasuke was popular (or in Naruto's words, why he was such a bastard). It was unheard of.

"Besides, all the animal based styles that could be of use have probably been invented a long time ago," continued Sasuke, as if it hadn't occurred to him that he was actually talking to the dobe. "Thinking that you can just invent another is just being unproductive."

Naruto scowled, but before he could say anything more, they were interrupted by a cough from above.

Squatting on a branch over their heads was Kakashi. He had his book open in his left hand, whilst the other carried a large sack labelled fertilizer.

"…I think you may have to rethink that sentence Sasuke-kun," he began, with his not so hidden smile. "There is actually a family here in Konoha that has invented a fighting style based of an animal model in recent years."

Noting that his students hadn't moved or said anything, he took it as an invitation to continue. "The Inuzuka clan has a style based on canine hunting, which has proven very successful, even against advanced taijutsu experts like the Hyuga."

Sasuke scowled a bit but didn't say anything. The appearance of their teacher had reminded him about his goal, and thus he reverted into his old silent routine.

Noting Sasuke's reaction, Kakashi decided to cut it there (if the boy wanted to learn, he'd have to learn how to ask) so before any of the others could get a word inn, he added "but that is a story for another day. Now that I've gotten the things I needed form the store, you are free for the rest of the day. Good bye."

And with that, he just disappeared, leaving his stunned students behind.

Standing there, speechless and somewhat agitated that their teacher actually ran away whilst he was actually teaching, Sakura was the first to react. "He just left us here while he went of to buy fertilizer?"

Sasuke only grunted before turning to leave.

Seeing the development, Naruto spoke up, "Hey Sasuke, Sakura-chan, why don't we train some more? It's way too early to stop now."

Sasuke, not seeing a benefit in the idea voiced his opinion, "I'll do better on my own," and then he turned and walked away.

Sakura actually seemed to consider it for a moment, but she wouldn't hang about without Sasuke (who know, Naruto might think of it as a date). "Not today Naruto," she said, before she jogged after Sasuke to try talking to him alone.

That left Naruto on his own, as the frog had used the distraction to get away.

/

As Kakashi opened the door to the Hokage's office a bit later, he was surprised to find himself face to chest with a giant of a man. "So, how is the little gaki?" the giant asked right out of the blue.

It took a moment for Kakashi to place the voice, and identify the face that was looking down at him. Not because he was unfamiliar with it, but because he wasn't used to be taken by surprise.

"Which one, Jiraiya-sama?" he asked as way of an answer. If Jiraiya was going to surprise him like that, then the legendary ninja would be the one to explain.

Diving right through Kakashi's defence like question, Jiraiya powered on, "My new apprentice."

That raised Kakashi's eyebrows, both of them. Was he going to loose one of his new students, just like that? It was enough to divert Kakashi from the answer he normally would have found with little trouble, "…you're going to take one of my students?"

Jiraiya's smile didn't budge, but he didn't answer either.

From behind the legendary Sannin, the voice of the Sandaime answered for him, "No, Jiraiya is not going to take away one of you're students."

At that moment, Jiraiya burst out laughing, leaving Kakashi even more confused. However, now that the initial shock had passed, and the Hokage had said that he was not going to loose any of his genin, Kakashi had time to think. "You're going to teach Naruto?"

"That's right. So, how is he?"

Kakashi didn't know exactly what Jiraiya wanted to know, so he just stuck to the basics, "He is a bit of a mess to be honest. His taijutsu is very sloppy, and most of the time he don't know what to do. He has no skill at genjutsu, but his ninjutsu is promising, if he can learn to control it better."

Jiraiya's smile dropped a bit, and he stole a glance at the Sandaime, who only shrugged.

Having noticed this, Kakashi continued, but kept an eye open for any other reactions, "He has a tendency to fool around, but he has also showed himself to be very good at improvisation, much more devious than anything he did at the academy."

"At least from what I read about in the reports", he added as an afterthought.

Jiraiya's facial feature was blank for a bit before a happy smile crept upon his face.

"So, Jiraiya, what is you're assessment?" asked the Sandaime with a very flat voice.

"I don't know yet, not before I have the details, but no matter what the situation is, I am adamant about teaching him."

Kakashi, who now felt as if he was being left out of the loop, asked the only question that would be appropriate, "Is there something I should know?"

The Hokage let out a tired sigh, while Jiraiya smirked at him. "That depends," Jiraiya said, "are you prepared to keep a secret?"

Kakashi looked at the legendary shinobi in front of him for a moment, trying to decide if telling Jiraiya that he knew who Naruto's father was would make him look foolish or not. Surely the Sannin knew that he knew. In the end, there was only one thing to say, so with an exaggerated sigh he muttered a tired "…yes."

"I am his godfather."

Kakashi's eyelid opened a bit more. It was news to him, but not all that shocking. If there were any person closer to his sensei, other than Uzumaki Kushina had been, than himself, it would be his old sensei. Having read Jiraiya's first book, and been thoroughly disappointed by the lack of adult entertainment, he was certain that it was from that book Naruto had gotten his name.

"…So you plan to take on a father role?" was the only question Kakashi could ask that would have made sense to him.

"Not exactly the fatherly role, but I'm as close to a family as anything he's got. More importantly than that though, is that I see something in him that I recognise."

The cryptic back and forth was the way shinobi talked. That didn't mean that Kakashi had to like it though. "What is it you recognise?"

The smile grew much warmer than it had been, and Kakashi could actually see the open and bare truth when Jiraiya said, "The best of both Minato-kun and Kushina-chan."

That was something Kakashi could sort of relate to. Naruto did seem to have inherited his father's looks, but his attitude and behaviour was all Kushina (A much younger and less cunning Kushina, but still Kushina). It surprised Kakashi a little that Jiraiya would deem those the best qualities to inherit from his parents though. Kushina's looks would have masked him better, and Minato had been quiet socially and brilliant as a shinobi.

Having probably seen the question on his face, Jiraiya answered, "He is much more Kushina than Minato, but he is there, and all he needs to get out is the right outlet."

That was a strange phrase. "So you're saying that you know how to train him properly?"

"I think I have a few ideas, yes, but he will still be with your team, training and taking missions with you. I'm just going to train him on the side, like any clan would do with their members."

"But why do it now? Why not before?"

"Because now is the right time."

It wasn't much of an answer, but it was all Kakashi would get.

/

After Kakashi left, Sarutobi fixed Jiraiya with an annoyed look. "Did you really need to tease him like that?"

"No, but it was worth it," Jiraiya replied with a smile.

"He'll watch Naruto-kun more now though."

"Maybe that's a good thing, sensei," replied Jiraiya as if he'd just thought about it.

Sarutobi was silent for a time, tossing the idea around in his head. "From what you have told me, wouldn't it be better if he focused more on little Sasuke-kun from here on out?"

"I'm not so sure about that. He kept a close eye on Sasuke, even engaged him in private one-on-one training sessions, and he still ended up defecting," Jiraiya let that rest for a bit. He was still unsure about what he should call the other place. "Maybe I should drop him a hint about Sakura as well, just for diversity's sake…"

The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is there something you haven't told me yet?"

"A lot I'm afraid. It's not easy to recall everything that happened in over a decade."

Sarutobi frowned, but not at Jiraiya, "But you are sure about the invasions, the war and that Madara is still active?"

Jiraiya nodded gravely.

"Should I inform the other Kages?" It wasn't as much a question, as a gauge for his reaction.

"Not yet, I think. Let Naruto grow a little, but we should probably let Suna know about Orochimaru and his plans."

"That would be a well received peace offering…" muttered Sarutobi, but he didn't disagree. He didn't object, he was just questioning if Suna would see it as a peace offering, and not just an effort to starve off an attack.

"Maybe we should try to contact Itachi as well?" suggested Jiraiya after a few moments.

Sarutobi's eyes locked on Jiraiya's. "Not yet. If all you say is correct, informing Itachi now could jeopardize everything, as he would be inclined to act on his own or take contact."

"You think there is a way to save him yet?"

"…I don't know. We'll contact him when we have a clear strategy on how to proceed."

Jiraiya was quiet for a moment before he sighed and nodded. He didn't have any real connection with the so-called traitor Uchiha, nor was he really that bothered with his supposed power level. No-one was more powerful than the knowledge of their jutsu, and he knew for a fact that Sarutobi was fully aware of Itachi's capabilities. His old sensei was sly like that, and he probably had the recipe to counter whatever move Itachi could make if he ever decided to really go rogue.

For that matter so had Jiraiya, now that he had knowledge of the future…sort off. It hadn't taken his counterpart long to start preparation after the encounter at the inn…which he was convinced would still happen if events brought them there.

"I hope you're right sensei, because I'm determined to let Naruto grow up without having a rogue team-mate occupying his every waking moment."

Sarutobi watched Jiraiya with sad eyes for a moment before saying anything. "It really was that bad?"

"…Not all the time, but it was…would be very dominating. Kid really deserves to live a more easy going life than that."

Being silent for a moment, Sarutobi turned the conversation onto a different subject. "What are to going to do now?"

Jiraiya walked over to the window and looked out over the roofs of Konoha. "I think I'm going to observe him for a bit, before I make any contact…"

"You think that's wise? You don't think Kakashi will tell him?"

Looking at his old sensei, Jiraiya started smiling again. "And miss the opportunity to see Naruto shocked? Kakashi may be a brilliant shinobi, able to hide his intentions like the best of them, but socially; he is as easy to read as Naruto."

The look he got was all Jiraiya needed to correct himself. "Maybe not, but not knowing the situation, he won't act before he gets the details. Anyway, he'll watch Naruto closer this time around, and will probably spend a bit more time teaching him, rather than wait for the team to balance itself out on its own. It'll also bother him to no end, which is always fun to watch."

/

Hinata didn't know what she was thinking. She had already decided that she wouldn't tell him yet, but she still found herself making her way to the training area just like the day before.

She had every excuse not to meet him for the time being. She even had a really advanced technique to learn, just to make things a little bit less awkward than talking to him at this time. Even her counter argument, that she needed to observe him a bit more to know how to approach him when the time came, was meek and half-hearted in her mind. So it was with more doubt than ever that she found herself on her way to see Naruto.

When she reached the regular area, and landed well out of sight, she took a moment to calm her breathing. She had done this many times, she winched at the thought of how dishonourable she was, so why would she be nervous?

Granted, she was always nervous when she approached Naruto and she should be. He was the person she admired after all. A source of inspiration to her, and a beacon of hope (a phrase she'd gotten from the book), but worst of all was the fact that she'd nearly been discovered the last time she did this. So she just had to do a better job at paying attention to what he did this time. Make sure to bolt if he seemed to be doing that tracking exercise again (She had faith in Naruto, but she was a realist, and Naruto usually took weeks to get chakra based tricks right).

Having calmed herself down to a reasonable lever of anxiety, she stealthily made her way towards where she sensed Naruto would be.

She found him about the same place as the day before, and she was in luck. He seemed to be preoccupied with perfecting the wall walking exercise. She remembered learning that herself, and it had taken all her focus to get the timing right (an easy task when you didn't really want to focus on the instructors words). He wouldn't pay too much attention to his surroundings then.

Being sure that he wouldn't see her at the moment, she started to reflect on how he was training. He seemed to be having a hard time with the technique, putting enough chakra into it to crack the bark several times on his way up, making his run look more like a desperate scramble than a gravity defying run. Even so, Hinata found it to be more graceful than anyone she had seen do it.

It wasn't like he had anyone here instructing him. They didn't learn it at the academy either, so he must have taken the initiative to learn it himself. Not to mention that it was a chakra control exercise, something she knew Naruto found to be very hard indeed. He was improving himself bit by bit, and nobody would be able to stop him.

Gathering herself, she stood up. She had decided. She was going to face her now, before her nerves broke.

Keeping her gaze locked steadily on the ground, she took one step. Another, and another towards her idol.

He deserved to know. He had the right to know. This person never gave up, never gave any room for doubt, never yielded when the odds were stacked against him. He was so much better a shinobi than Hinata was ever going to be, without the teaching of a clan to aid him. The least he deserved was for people that had wronged him to step up and apologise for their transgression.

She was closer now. She could hear him grumbling, and the complaining creaking sound from the bark under his feet. She dared to look upon him. He was halfway to the top, hadn't noticed her yet. His pace was slow, very slow. It looked like he was fighting the tree as much as the gravity, and it was a tie.

Feeling her nerves starting to kick in, she squeezed her eyes shut, got down on all fours with her head pressed against her hands on the ground, like a formal apology demanded.

It was now or never. It was too late to back away. Too late to not do it. Breathing heavily, she announced in as clear a voice as she would manage, "Sumimasen! I am so sorry!"

From above she heard a surprised yelp and then there was a 'thud' directly in front of her.

Author notes:

The usage of Japanese words in the text is nothing more than tool to place the Japanese voice-actors voices in the minds of the readers. I've yet to see a single Naruto episode with the dub (not counting the games, where I switch at the first opportunity), so I've never had to hear "–believe it" over and over. It will also lessen considerably from here on out.

I hope I got the scent thing right. I only have a surface understanding about how dogs track animals and such. The thing with the three-walking concept is just how I think they did it in Kakashi gaiden. God knows if it is correct, or if I got it from some other story that I don't remember (in which case, I apologise for stealing the idea), but for this story, It'll have to do. As for the thing with the molecules, I'll have to thank Shawny Wong for that. She is the one that got me to look into it a bit more, and though she thought it to be a bit simplistic (and it is, no matter how brilliant I thought it was originally), it is the best I could come up with. Update: I've now fixed several mistakes in the chapter…though, not all.

Kurenai: I have little idea about how Kurenai actually is. We see her in the story as a silent, but strict woman (she was the only one with students whom actually looked like they were struggling the first time they were shown in the manga). I choose to see her as an eager and silently enthusiastic teacher, who like for her students to be as prepared as she can make them. Whatever the case, she is probably very, very OOC in this story, and I apologise for that. As for her interest in Hinata's love life…what self respecting woman wouldn't be interested in who the shyest person they know are interested in?

This chapter was mainly about Hinata, as you've seen. Whatever I write in the future will be divided between Naruto and Hinata, as this is a NaruHina story. It has taken so long to put this chapter out, because I find her hard to write (I don't want to over do it, but it is so easy to do so). Sorry about that. I'd like to hear if you have any objections to how she is portrayed, as I like for her to be as close to canon as possible.

This chapter had no _Final_ Beta-reader. That is to say, It has been beta-read several times during in the making, but changes has been made several times, and whatever good that has been done by Shawny Wong (who isn't really a beta-reader, just a very nice person and great authoress) and Dean Angel might have been compromised. For that I am sorry. If it is well written and not too inconsistent for your liking, then the full credits should go to them. Update: It had been compromised. Very much so actually. That's the danger of letting your fingers do the thinking for you.

~Epidot


End file.
